John Atherton (1900-1952)Christmas Rocking Chair, 1942Cover illustration for Fortune (December 1942)   It may seem odd to focus on a Christmas cover image from 1942 in the late spring of 2013, but what makes this cover illustration for Fortune magazine extremely timely and appropriate is that it is about traditions—about remembering. Christmas Rocking Chair was

The Grapes of Wrath, 1940Advertising poster by 20th Century Fox for the movie, The Grapes of Wrath   Soon after John Steinbeck’s influential novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was first published in 1939, positive popular reaction to the story* impelled the Limited Editions Club** to publish its own version illustrated by the American Regionalist painter,

Charles Stanley Reinhart (1844-1896)Americans Abroad–The Copyist in the Louvre, 1889Story illustration for “The Copyist in the Louvre” in Harper’s Weekly v. 34 (January 4, 1890): 12.Ink on illustration boardLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, CAI – Reinhart, no. 25 (C size)   There is a bit of theatre surrounding the creation of art. This

Ben Shahn (1898-1969)CarpenterCover illustration for Popular Home (Late Spring 1949, Small Homes Review Issue) Isn’t illustration about communication? Isn’t its function to transmit ideas or to create images that represent the content of the book or magazine, or to picture an idea or a point of view? The visual impact of a great cover illustration

Louis Glackens (1866–1933)The Latest in Easter Eggs. The Cubist Influence Reaches the Barnyard, 1913Cover illustration for Puck (March 19, 1913)Lithograph and watercolor on illustration boardDelawareArt Museum, Gift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1978   On February 17, 1913, the International Exhibition of Modern Art opened at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City. The exhibition,

Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885) The Bookworm, 1852 Oil on canvas Museum Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt, Germany   This article forms a direct response to Daniel S.  Palmer’s recent consideration of Romanticist influence on Norman Rockwell.* In his work, Palmer noted the artistic technique of the Rückenfigur, a term which is remarkably appropriate

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)Infantryman in Field Costume (The Infantryman), 1890Story illustration for “General Crook in the Indian Country” by John G. Bourke, Captain, 3rd Cavalry, U. S. A., in Century Magazine v. 41, no. 5 (March 1891)watercolor and gouache on illustration boardCollection of the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT, Harriet Russell Stanley

Rosina Emmet Sherwood (1854-1948)Disgusted with life, she retired to the society of books, (October 3rd) 1888Story illustration for “The A.O.I.B.R.” by Elizabeth Eggleston Seelye in Harper’s Young People, 10 (April 16, 1889): 412.Ink on paperThe Library of Congress, Cabinet of American Illustration, CAI – Sherwood, no. 21 (A size)   We read for lots of

Walter Beach Humphrey (1892-1966) | Memories, c.1920s | Oil on canvas | Private Collection This illustration by Walter Beach Humphrey was at auction a few years ago as part of the dispersal of the estate of illustration collector and dealer Charles Martignette. Since there is no date information with this

  left, Barry Blitt (b. 1958) The Media Issue, 2010 Cover illustration for Advertising Age (September 27, 2010) right, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) Freedom From Want, 1943 llustration for The Saturday Evening Post (March 6, 1943) Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, NRACT. 1973. 022 Previously I wrote an essay about some of R. O. Blechman’s illustrations that repurposed other, older