Illustration for the cover of Dell Comics, by Don Spaulding (American, 1926). Spaulding studied with Norman Rockwell and by his early 30s was “the” Lone Ranger artist for Dell. He subsequently focused on fine art. His skill at presenting action and color are well illustrated here.
Category: American
Child Picking Flowers
by Frank Hector Tompkins (1847-1922, American). Tompkins was a well-known and highly regarded painter of landscapes and figures. He studied and worked in Germany before settling in Boston and was considered one of the early American masters of impressionism. The painting shown here is an excellent example of Tompkins’ use of light on a landscape.
You Can Learn to Water Ski
(from the girls magazine Calling All Girls,July 1961), by Freeman Elliott (American, 1922-). Born in 1922 in a suburb of Chicago, Freeman Elliot’s early work appeared in Brown & Bigelow’s successful Ballyhoo Calendar, along with Esquire Magazine. His pinups appeard on the covers of Hearst’s The American Weekly during the 1950s.
The Beach
by Tom Lovell (American, 1909-1997). This illustration, which appeared in Woman’s Home Companion, is the story of conflict between man and wife, showing the close relationship between mother and children to the exclusion of the father. Lovell painted for National Geographic among many other magazines. He was commissioned by many publications to produce scenes of…
Parisian Park Scene
ca. 1910, by Jane Peterson (1876-1965, American). After graduation in 1901 from the Pratt Institute in New York, Jane Peterson went on to study oil and watercolor painting at the Art Students League in New York City. Moving to Paris in 1907, she became friends with Gertrude Stein and met Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse….
Abraham Lincoln Debating Stephen Douglas, 1860
The work of Dean Cornwell, (American, 1892-1960), nicknamed the “Dean of American Illustrators,” was a dominant presence in such magazines as Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. He also painted murals on many public buildings in New York, Los Angeles, and in Europe.
Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth
Dennis Malone Carter’s 1854 study for a painting of Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth, a painting that has become an icon of the portrayal of the American Revolution. Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Battle of Monmouth, who is generally believed to have…
Lady in Green
Portrait of a Lady in Green by Howard Christy (American 1873-1952). Christy was an artist and illustrator famous for the “Christy Girl,” similar to the “Gibson Girl.” He first attracted attention with his illustrations of the Spanish-American War, published in Scribner’s and Harper’s magazines and in Collier’s Weekly, gaining especial prominence with the series, Men…
Western
Buffalo rifles, the legendary “Big Gun” on the northern Plains. The weight and length of the barrels provided supreme accuracy and killing power. These were the types of guns that nearly extinguished the great buffalo herds in the 1880s and 1890s. The painting of Sioux buffalo hunters, The Hunters, show hunters using a lance and…
Return from the Market
John Lewis Krimmel’s study for Return from the Market. Sometimes called “the American Hogarth,” Krimmel (American, 1789-1821) was the country’s first noted painter of genre scenes. Born in Germany, Krimmel emigrated to Philadelphia in 1809 and soon became a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was among the first artists in America…