Born in Rochester, New York, Guy Hoff was trained at the Art School of the Albright Gallery in Buffalo, and the Art Students League in New York City. Hoff painted seven covers for The Saturday Evening Post. He also did illustrations for Procter & Gamble, Lux and Ivory Soap. In New York he designed program covers for the Shubert Theatre and sold his first magazine cover to Smart Set, which put him on the national scene.