Following his service, Dodge resumed studies at Cincinnati Art Academy in the 1943 school year. In August 1943 he accepted a position at
Columbia Records in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, where his friend
James Flora had recently been hired by
Alex Steinweiss. Recalling those early years at Columbia Records,
Ginnie Hofmann recalled Flora saying, "Everything will be fine. Dick Dodge is here." According to several contemporary sources, Dodge was hired as
Art Director when Flora was promoted to advertising executive. But he never served in that role (or served only briefly), as
Robert M. Jones became Art Director after Flora. Using his connections with Flora and Jones, who both later worked for
RCA Victor (Jones as Art Director), Dodge contributed to the album (LP) catalog of both labels producing artwork for the covers and sleeves of material ranging from children's stories to popular song to classical music – for example, the original cast recording cover for
Paint Your Wagon. Dodge's commercial work also included periodicals, children's books, and dust jackets for dozens of titles published by
Random House,
Simon & Schuster,
Harcourt Brace, and
MacMillan. Notable examples of his children's book illustrations include
Too Many Sisters and
The First Book of Boys Cooking, both authored by
Jerrold Beim. He illustrated several of the covers for
P.G. Wodehouse books published by Simon & Schuster as well as
Zorba the Greek by
Nikos Kazantzakis. Between 1954 and 1958, Dodge contributed illustrations to
Ford Times magazine, including the cover illustration of the December 1955 edition (Vol. 47, No. 12), titled "Christmas Tree Highway". Throughout his life, Dodge created artwork in many media and styles, with influences ranging from
Regionalism to
Abstract Expressionism. Dodge was an active member of the
American Watercolor Society from 1956 until his death. According to his
New York Times obituary, he was a charter member of the Artist Guild of
Westport, Connecticut as well as being a member of the
Illustrators Society of New York. ==Selected Bibliography (Illustrator)==