Whitcomb's Tips on Idealizing Women

Golden Age illustrator Jon Whitcomb explained what elements he would change to idealize a woman's face, explaining "what makes a pretty girl pretty." 

1. Eyes are sometimes moved further apart. This device helps make a face look younger.

2. The eyebrows are raised.

3. The irises of the eyes are enlarged very slightly.

4. Shadows from lighting are edited for simplicity and sometimes left out altogether.

5. Mouths are usually made a little fuller, especially the lower lip.

6. Superfluous lines, like laugh lines and wrinkles, and irregularities of the jaw and nose are ignored.

"The width of the face is narrowed slightly, since in life, your two eyes see a face that is a composite of the image from both. Eyes are roughly three inches apart, so that your left eye sees a little more of the left cheek, your right eye a little more of the right. Your visual impression is that of a thinner face."

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From the Famous Artists Course, Lesson 13

New Book on Perry Peterson

Perry Peterson contributed illustrations to the popular magazines during the heyday of the Saturday Evening Post and Cosmopolitan.

Peterson painted in gouache and casein, and for many years he adapted his style to the printing limitations (black + one color) of the early magazines. That made him a resourceful colorist, and when he moved into full color in the 1950s, he brought a lot of interesting ideas to his pictures. 

His paintings were executed quickly, with bold shapes, dynamic brushstrokes, and strong shadows. He only approached the finished painting after plenty of planning, making use of reference photos of models and props. 

Sometimes he had photos of models taken in a professional studio in New York City, and other times he shot his reference at home with friends and family.

The book starts out with a biography written by illustration historian Dan Zimmer, who began collecting Peterson's originals many years ago. 

At the beginning of the biographical section, he includes many of Peterson's sketches, reference photos, and preliminary studies. After page 26, it's all original art and tearsheets.

The Art of Perry Peterson is 224 pages long, 9x12 inches, hardcover.  

Gibson Girl at Her Painting

"She goes into colors," says the caption of this pen-and-ink drawing by Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944).

What a challenge for this young woman, dealing with all these suitors and critics, while remaining attractive, poised, and confident. 

Oh, and also she wants to produce a good painting without ruining her white dress.

That spirit of the capable, independent woman is one of the things that made Gibson's images so popular.

Émile Bayard

Émile Bayard (1837-1891) was a prolific French artist who created illustrations for novels, magazines, and newspapers.

He is best known for his depiction of Cosette from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, which was used in marketing the Broadway musical.

He illustrated Jules Verne's novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Verne was so impressed with Bayard's preliminary sketches for the book that he rewrote certain sections of the story to better match the illustrations. He also illustrated Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon," an early work of science fiction.

Bayard was a tireless researcher, digging through libraries and costume collections to get the right detail. He  once insisted on building a scale model of an ancient city in order to accurately depict it in a book illustration.


Nevertheless he was a fast worker. According to a frequently cited anecdote, he once completed a series of illustrations for a book in just 48 hours, working non-stop without sleeping.

Children's Book Art in Massachusetts

Garth Williams (1912-1996) Cover Study, Crayon and ink on paper, From: I Like Everything

The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield is hosting an exhibition of children's book illustration that includes over 140 original works, including art by Beatrix Potter, Garth Williams, Maurice Sendak, and Dr. Seuss.

The show has a number of gouache originals created for the Little Golden Books series. 

Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970), The Nursemaid, 1949,

Gouache on board From: Big Elephant by Kathryn Jackson

When he was interviewed about how he got started, Feodor Rojanskovky recalled a moment in his childhood when, "I was taken to the zoo and saw the most marvelous creatures on earth...and while my admiration was running high, I was given a set of crayons."

There are many other illustrators represented, including Rosemary Wells, Richard Scarry, Chris Van Allsburg, Hilary Knight, David Shannon, and Dennis Nolan. Some of the characters of literature represented include Babar, Eloise, Madeline, the Cat in the Hat and Dick & Jane. 

The exhibition "Childhood Classics" will be on view through April 30, 2023 at the Berkshire Museum, which is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

'Why I Would Rather Be an Illustrator'

When he was asked whether he ever had the desire, as have had so many illustrators, to go in for what is known as 'straight painting,' Dean Cornwell replied: 

"It is love of romance that makes Americans the greatest readers of fiction, and producers of the greatest number of films. That is one reason why I would rather be an illustrator than do so-called straight painting. I appeal to this spirit in thousands of people, whereas if I painted a picture and showed in an exhibition, and if it were lucky enough to be bought, only a few people would see it." 

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 "Dean Cornwell: Factor in a New Art" article by Helen Appleton Read in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1924, from Fulton History.

Illustration by Balliol Salmon

A.J. Balliol Salmon (1868-1953) was a British illustrator who painted high-society subjects using pencil, watercolor, gouache and pen. 

Various drawing and painting media were used in early 20th century illustration: "There are very few technical limitations in general illustration. You may use charcoal, chalk, pencil, wash, oil-colours, line and tone combined—practically anything which will reproduce effectively. The minor periodicals use pen and ink, chiefly because the paper on which they are printed isn't suitable for tone work, but your readers want, as far as possible, as complete a representation of a subject as they can get, and full tone or colour can of course be suggested more easily by the tone mediums than it can be by line."

—Percy Bradshaw, quoted in the Artist Magazine, Aug. 1932, p. 248. Thanks, James W.

'To Quicken Our Souls'

 

Harvey Dunn said of his teacher Howard Pyle, "His main purpose was to quicken our souls that we might render service to the majesty of simple things."

Al Dorne Special in Illustration Magazine

Illustrator Albert Dorne is the subject of an entire special issue of Illustration Magazine. Dorne founded the Famous Artists School and worked for decades in the lucrative field of advertising illustration. 

Dorne was also a major influence on the artists for Mad Magazine, such as Jack Davis.

The 80-page issue includes a detailed biography, richly illustrated with dozens of examples of his artwork.

Illustration Magazine Special on Al Dorne

80 pages, 8.5 x 11, perfect bound, printed in full color.

Cream of Wheat Ad Art

Nabisco hired the best illustrators in the early 20th century to create a warm feeling about their Cream of Wheat cereal products.

Many artists of the Golden Age of Illustration as N.C. Wyeth (top), Haddon Sundblom (above), and Jessie Wilcox Smith, contributed work to Nabisco's advertising efforts.

A cache of over 500 drawings and paintings were discovered, locked in metal storage cabinets at the old company headquarters. Long believed lost, these prime examples of advertising art were a surprise to illustration historians.

Notes accompanying the records revealed that the agency fee paid to the artist typically ranged from $200 to $1,000.

Examples of Cream of Wheat Advertising Art on website Period Paper

 

Collaborating on a Glamour Illustration

Fritz Willis and Joe DeMers were two young artists who collaborated in an interesting way.

In 1946, they were picked by Esquire magazine to create the inaugural illustration for a new feature called "Esquire Gallery of Glamour." 

They decided to work together on it and to sign both their names to the result. According to a 1951 newspaper article quoted in Illustration magazine: 

"They worked closely together, Joe sketching the left eyelid, Fritz the blue in the white eyeball, Joe the left toe, and Fritz the fourth one. Or they might each work on a complete section. DeMers himself explained one cooperative effort: 'Fritz took the arms. I took the face, then he did the feet and I painted the legs.'" 

The new issue of Illustration includes a big article on Fritz Willis, famous for his brilliant pin-ups. It also features paperback cover illustrator Raymond Johnson, with an extensive biography and showcase of his work, plus an academic article called "The Delineation of Desire in 1920s Commercial Illustration."

It's Hard to Classify Will T. Bradley

Will T. Bradley (1868-1962) was the highest paid American artist in the early 20th century*, but don't feel bad if you haven't heard of him.

At a time when magazines were the chief vehicle of cultural expression, Bradley was a prolific and noteworthy cover artist. 

His style featured simple shapes, smooth lines, and large areas of flat colors, which lent itself not only to covers, but also to posters.

When he wanted to, he could draw in a more ornate pen-and-ink style, influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and Alphonse Mucha.

Bradley was a type designer he created the original version of what is now known as Bradley DJR (designed by David Jonathan Ross.) And he was also an art director for Hearst films.

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*More about Will T. Bradley at Wikipedia 

Raymond de la Nézière, Animal Artist

Raymond de la Nézière (1865-1953) was a French illustrator and comic artist with a gift for capturing expressive poses in animal caricature.

He began drawing and painting from a young age, encouraged by his mother, who was a painter and potter. 

In his early years he painted in oil and then began using more gouache and watercolor.

 

He illustrated many books and sketched all sorts of animals, sometimes in naturalistic poses, and sometimes anthroporphized as human types.

He also participated as a hunter and a horseback rider.

Donald Teague's Procedure

Illustrator Donald Teague (1897-1991) was known for his adventure illustrations. His process began with small pencil compositions. 

According to Ernest Watson, "He may make up a score, fifty or even more of these before he takes up his brush for color studies—these also at small scale. 'There is nothing I can add to this,' Teague said."

"'The preliminary sketches are just blood and sweat.' After he has produced a satisfactory color comprehensive, he goes out on location to sketch from models which he poses as they are to appear in the composition. There may be a dozen horses, three or four figures, and a vehicle or two in the picture. All will be sketched in pencil and afterward."

After that the sketches are projected on a sheet of watercolor paper. The pencil lines are finalized without resorting to an eraser, which could introduce unwanted oils. He then produces the final illustration in watercolor or gouache. 

Teague also traveled and sketched from observation with his watercolor set.

Quotes are from the book Forty Illustrators and How They Work

The Horse Pictures of Eduard Thöny

Eduard Thöny (1866-1950) was known for his excellent draftsmanship. 

He loved to include equestrian subjects and often put his horses in dramatic action poses. 

In 1890 he visited Paris to study the historical paintings of equestrian specialist Edouard Detaille.

Die allerhöchste Auszeichnung für Künstler (The Highest Award for Artists) 

In 1899 he made an incisive caricature of the famous artists Anton von Werner and Adolph von Menzel).

See more examples of Eduard Thöny on Wikimedia Commons. (1866-1950)

Previous post on Eduard Thony's Caricatures

Detailed German Wikipedia entry about Eduard Thöny.

Gerber Baby Art

The Gerber baby food company is still using simple charcoal drawing that was produced almost a hundred years ago.

The company's website says: "In 1928, Gerber held a contest to find a face to represent a baby food advertising campaign. Artist Dorothy Hope Smith entered her simple charcoal sketch of a tousle-haired, bright-eyed cherub of a baby with endearing pursed lips. In her entry, Smith noted that she would finish the sketch if she won. 

"Her drawing competed with elaborate oil paintings, but the judges fell in love with the baby face Smith drew, and when they chose it as the winner, they insisted that the simple illustration remain a sketch. The image of this happy, healthy baby was soon to become the face that launched a brand, a face recognized and loved across the globe."

"Indeed, the illustration became so popular that Gerber adopted it as its official trademark in 1931. Since then, the Gerber Baby has appeared on all Gerber packaging and in every Gerber advertisement."

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Read more at the Gerber baby food website

Animal Fable Illustrations by E.M. Rachev

Evgenii (or Yevgeny) Rachev (1906-1997) was an illustrator best known for his images of animal fables from Russian folk tales.

Postcards based on Russian folk tales, 1960, E.M. Rachev.

He used animal characters to tell his stories, but of course the allegories were really about human foibles.

He said: "If my birds and animals help you to fathom that the story is actually about people it means that I reached the same effect as the folk tales did."

He grew up with his grandparents in Siberia. According to an online bio:

"He remembered Siberia as a fantastic land. Black grouses sitting pompously on fir branches in the evenings... Fish and wild ducks swarming the lakes... No end to mushrooms and berries in summer... But when the boy was 14 years old his grandmother died. He decided to go to his mother who at that time lived in Novorosiisk. It took him three months to get there through Russia ravaged by the revolution."

As a side hobby he collected interesting shapes of tree roots, which he sculpted into animal shapes.

His wife Lidya Ivanovna Racheva collaborated with him by compiling stories, researching costumes, and writing texts.

His books are beloved in Russian and French editions, and there is at least one book of his folk tales available in English.

Website with bio in English

Wikipedia page