On this day, October 23, 1963, comic artist Eric Shanower was born in Key West, Florida. After college he attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Shanower’s first comic series was The Enchanted Apples of Oz, fulfilling his desire to “. . . write and draw Oz books when I grew up.” His
On this day, October 22, 1925, illustrator Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum died in New Rochelle, New York. After studying at the Art Students League in New York and abroad, Zogbaum was hired by Harper’s Weekly as one of its few staff artists. Zogbaum specialized in illustrations of western and military themes, setting the standard that later illustrators, Remington and
On this day, October 21, 1944, illustrator and comic artist Nell Brinkley died in New Rochelle, New York. While not formally trained, early in her career Brinkley produced ink drawings for various newspapers. Brinkley’s pretty girl illustrations, known as Brinkley Girls, were feminine, fun-loving, and more independent than Gibson’s Girls.
On this day, October 20, 1906, the illustrator Crockett Johnson (David Johnson Leisk) was born in New York City. After studying at Cooper Union and at New YorkUniversity, Johnson worked in Macy’s advertising department and for a variety of magazines. Johnson illustrated some of his wife’s children’s books, wrote and illustrated his own children’s books
On this day, October 19, 1853, illustrator and author Edmund H. Garrett was born in Albany, New York. He traveled to Europe with Childe Hassan and studied in Paris at the Académie Julian. Later in Boston Garrett became a prolific illustrator and was renowned for his Arthurian illustrations.
On this day, October 18, 1973, cartoonist Walt Kelly died in Woodland Hills, California. A crime reporter for the Bridgeport Post, Kelly took up cartooning and illustration a biography of P. T. Barnum. Soon after he went to work for Walt Disney Productions from 1936 to 1941 as a story board artist. Kelly went to work
Maybe you’re like me and when you think of the 20th century illustrator Cushman Parker, you think of the myriad of advertising illustrations he created in the teens and 20s of cherry cheeked children enjoying a variety of Beech-Nut products.* Cushman Parker (1881-1940) Beech Nut Advertisement, c. 1920 Advertising illustration for Beech
On this date, October 17, 1877, illustrator Fanny Young Cory was born in Waukegan, Illinois. After studies at an art school in Helena, Montana and at the Art Students League in New York, Cory began creating illustrations for many of the turn-of-the century’s important magazines. But perhaps she is best known for her comic strip, Little
On this day, October 16, 1903, pulp illustrator Sam Cherry was born in The Bronx. Cherry studied at the Art Students League in New York and in the 1930s began working doing graphic designs and signs. His first pulp magazine images were published in 1939. After WWII Cherry’s work included story board illustrations, educational film projects,
On this day, October 15, 1987, illustrator Mark (Marco Enrico) Marchioni died in San Bernardino, California. After studying at the Art Students League in New York and the Grand Central School of Art, Marchioni began to illustrate science fiction and pulp magazines. His fascination with machinery led him to invent (with his brother) a coin-sorting machine and