Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His Students (original) (raw)

Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His Students

November 7, 2015 - March 13, 2016

Extended art object labels for the exhibition

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, March 1918

Captain Harvey Dunn

Photograph

South Dakota Art Museum Collection

Photographer Unknown

Harvey Dunn in His Studio, n.d.

Photograph

South Dakota Museum Collection

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Street Fighting, 1928

Cover illustration for The American Legion Monthly, September 1928

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

In 1928, the assistant art editor of The American Legion Monthly magazine invited Harvey Dunn to create cover illustrations inspired by his war experiences. This image portrays soldiers in battle against the backdrop of a partially destroyed city. A streak of fire emanates from the rifle of the kneeling figure, and the standing soldier in the background shows signs of hard service with his ripped sleeve, the loss of his canvas leggings (called puttees), and a wool wrap around his calf.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Night Raid, 1928

Cover illustration for The American Legion Monthly, July 1928

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Harvey Dunn's approach to visual storytelling reveals the influence of Howard Pyle in its insistence on capturing a dramatic moment. Whether Dunn was illustrating an adventure story for the Saturday Evening Post, depicting a battle attack from World War I, or recalling his youth plowing a buffalo trace, the artist injected a life-like quality into his works that made the subject come alive for the viewer.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Gunfire, 1929

Cover illustration for The American Legion Monthly, September 1929

Oil on canvas?

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Dunn's role as an embedded artist with the American Expeditionary Forces was to visually chronicle the Allied troop's activities. Like other A.E.F. illustrators, his drawings and paintings created on location were later translated into finished illustrations for commissions after the war. In this instance, Dunn's image for _The American Legion Monthly_of night bombing was colored by his memory of the brilliant but eerie illumination caused by muzzle flash from the field artillery.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

The Devil's Vineyard, n.d.

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

In this nuanced, emotional work, fallen soldiers lay among a French vineyard's posts and wires, their weapons subtly distinguishable from the trellis's damaged structure. Dunn's close tonal values and quiet color palette emphasize a sense of tragic calm after the storm.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Tumbling Helter-Skelter, 1906

Illustration for Dead Men Tell No Tales by Ernest William Hornung, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, 1906

Oil on canvas?

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Mrs. Robert D. Lusk

Harvey Dunn studied with Howard Pyle in 1904 and 1905, but in 1906, Pyle encouraged Dunn to set up his own studio in Wilmington, Delaware. His early commissions reflect Pyle's admonition that ". . . the moment of violent action is not so good a point to be chosen as the preceding or following instant. Here the interest lies in the excitement of uncertainty and eagerness to know who shall win. . . ." This illustration for Scribner's, created the year Dunn opened his first studio, illuminated an adventure story first published in 1899. Pyle's influence can be observed in the many pirate subjects that his students painted at the time. As in Pyle's An Attack on the Galleon, published in 1905, Dunn places the viewer at water level, looking up at the action taking place on a looming ship.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

The Street in Santa Fe, 1912

Story illustration for "The Calf Patch" by Kennett Harris, The Saturday Evening Post, February 17, 1912

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

This beautiful illustration offered readers a pageant of street-side action in old Santa Fe. In this work, Dunn manages to convey the warmth of the afternoon and much local color?from earthen feel of the locale and life on the street to the intimate and mysterious conversation taking place between the men seated outside the hotel.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Billy Boy Would Admit to Nothing More Reprehensible Than Falling in Love, 1915

Story illustration for "The Land Just Over Yonder" by Peter B. Kyne, The Saturday Evening Post, March 27, 1915

Oil on canvas

Collection of Murray and Carol Tinkelman

This elegantly composed painting tells the story of 'Billy Boy' King, a young gold prospector who joins up with "desert rat" Toyiabe Tom Jennings to finally make a claim in Cinnibar, New Mexico after a five year prospecting partnership. At the age of 28, tired and longing to settle down, Billy Boy gives his affections to a woman who is part Native American, despite Jennings' admonitions. Painted in full color, this painting was published in black and white and imbedded within the story's text, along with three other illustrations by the artist.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

The Hidden is Found, 1927

Story illustration for "The Night of Charity" by Rafael Sabatini, The Elks Magazine, February 1935

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950) was an Italian-English writer of romance and adventure stories, including Captain Blood, his most famous pirate story. In this illustration for "The Night of Charity," a fugitive, seen captured on the right, is threatened with execution. Dunn's composition utilizes an empty central space within the composition to offset competing elements of aggression, submission, fright, and disdain. Dunn's suspenseful approach would have inspired readers to continue on with the story to learn the fate of its characters.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

School Day's End, n.d.

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

As a boy, Harvey Dunn attended a one-room school in Esmond, South Dakota, which taught the equivalent of nine grades. His farm chores were grueling and maintaining his studies was not easy, but what he most loved was drawing. His mother, Bersha Dunn, encouraged his creative tendencies, as she was an amateur artist who enjoyed copying pictures from books, magazines, and calendars. The strong determination to pursue an education even on the prairie's bleakest days is reflected in this work. In Dunn's richly painted work, school children make their way home on a frigid winter day.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Home, 1922

Story illustration for "Iron Heart" by William MacLeod Raine, The Country Gentleman, July 1922

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Caroline Dunn Reiland Estate

The Country Gentleman was an agricultural magazine founded in 1831 by journalist and publisher Luther Tucker in Rochester, New York. In 1911, it was purchased by Curtis Publishing, owner of The Saturday Evening Post, and was redesigned to emphasize the business of farming, which was not addressed by the agricultural magazines of the day. Dunn's life on the prairie served as a reference point for this story illustration, which portrays a homesteader's farm, wooden shed, and barn. Covered with tar paper and partially buried in the earth, these structures offered some protection from the elements in harsher weather.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

The Return, n.d.

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist SDAM 1970.01.42

In this emotional work, Harvey Dunn conveys the trauma resulting from the destruction of a family's home during wartime. A crater-shaped hole looms over a weeping woman and a devastated young girl, who are surrounded by the few personal possessions they were able to salvage.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Coming Off Duty (Camouflage), 1929

Cover illustration for The American Legion Monthly, January 1930

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Rich and Strange, 1923

Story illustration for "Rich and Strange" by Edith Barnard Delano, Ladies' Home Journal, September 1923

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

In this windswept tale published in Ladies' Home Journal, "Esther Barnes was at Captain Elevar's side before any of us so much as realized she had moved. 'What are you thinking of? she cried.'" The woman's impassioned plea is emphasized by her grasp on the gun-wielding Captain's arm, and the stark paleness of her complexion is juxtaposed with his ruddy skin and piercing gaze. The Captain's head is at the apex of a strong triangular shape that encompasses the two figures in their struggle.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

The Liberator, Mexico, 1916

Story illustration for "A Good Rooster Crows Everywhere" by George Pattullo,

The Saturday Evening Post, December 2, 1916

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Like Harvey Dunn, author George Pattullo was a member of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, reporting for_The Saturday Evening Post_. He became one of the magazine's leading writers, and was known for such collections of Southwestern short stories as "A Good Rooster Crows Everywhere," which appeared in the Post and in book form. In this dynamic composition, two women seek protection from an angry band by clinging to, and hovering behind, the story's tall, brave protagonist.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Return to the Yacht, n.d.

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Like his teacher, Howard Pyle, Dunn utilized a three value tonal system -- light, medium, and dark. "Commence your picture by first establishing the three main values of your focal center, as of hair, face and background, and work on it until you have it right," he advised his students. "Then paint the rest of your picture in that tonal range, and do not, under any circumstances, depart from it. With your main tones decided, you have the key to all the remaining tones." In Return to the Yacht, the dark water and light vessel offer striking contrast, almost splitting the composition in two. The painting's lightest areas emphasize the presence of two figures, and boat's red stripe is a middle tone that provides a vibrant spot of color.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Nightclub Scene, c. 1930

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

This impressionistic work reflects the relative affluence of the post-World War I era, and the success that Dunn achieved as an illustrator. During the early and mid-twentieth century, illustrators were in high demand, and since most publications utilized their services, top artists were well-compensated for their work. The play of soft light on his subjects creates a sense of warmth and atmosphere, and in this music-filled room, his subjects seem immersed in their reverie.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Serving Drinks in an Arab Garden, 1922

Story illustration for "Command" by William McFee, Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1922

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

A brilliant colorist, Harvey Dunn advised his student to "play up one color note," as seen in the woman's yellow tunic, a focus of the painting. Yellow also appears prominently in the table and chair in the foreground, and in the shadow that falls against the wall behind her.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Welcome to the Commissioner, 1917

Story illustration for "A Case of Mutual Respect" by Stewart Edward White, The Saturday Evening Post, October 27, 1917

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Stewart Edward White (1873-1946) was an American writer and spiritualist who wrote a series of fiction and non-fiction stories about adventure and travel, with an emphasis on natural history and outdoor living. A Case of Mutual Respect was a story about a British hunter in Africa, pictured here on horseback among a crowd of villagers. The oval ox-hide shields featuring symbolic snake decorations are in the style of the Zulu people, a Bantu ethnic group in southern Africa. A lively pattern of light and dark moves the viewer's eye through the painting's composition.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Simba's Nostrils Widened and His Eyes Flashed. "He Says He Was Taught Shooting by Bwana Kingozi," 1917

Story illustration for "A Case of Mutual Respect" by Stewart Edward White, The Saturday Evening Post, October 27, 1917

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Robert Doares

This story illustration reflects the colonization of South Africa in the early nineteenth century by Great Britain. Confronted by the region's native people, an elegantly dressed woman is seated on a loosely-slung hammock under the shade of striped awning, a fine teapot by her side.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Meeting with the Chiefs, 1917

Story illustration for "True Sportsmen" by Stewart Edward White, The Saturday Evening Post, September 1, 1917

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Oliver Staggered Over and Entered Major Worsley's Quarters, 1927

Story illustration for "Decorations" by Laurie York Erskine, Collier's, October 29, 1927

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Author Laurie York Erskine (1894-1976) served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War and worked for a newspaper until he began writing fiction stories in 1921. Like Harvey Dunn, his work was published frequently in Collier's, a noted weekly founded in 1888. Known for its "fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, and news," the magazine reached 2.8 million readers at its height, commissioning such famous writers as Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J. D. Salinger, John Steinbeck, Pearl S. Buck, and Kurt Vonnegut to report on historical events.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Settlers in Canada, 1938

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Artist

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Guillotine, c.1937

Story illustration for "An Official Position" by W. Somerset Maugham, Cosmopolitan,

July 1937

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Mr. Tom Lovell

In a French penal colony, chief executioner Louis Remire is also a prisoner who has been convicted of killing his wife. The position gives Remire status, pay, and satisfaction -- he wears his own clothing instead of prison garb and proudly sports a substantial mustache. His role is also a dangerous one, as he is a hated official of the state, even though fellow inmates are enamored of his brass and steel guillotine. In this image, Remire makes preparations for the execution of six prisoners that will take place the following morning. This painting was gifted to the South Dakota Art Museum by Tom Lovell (1909-1997), a prominent twentieth century illustrator who was an admirer of Dunn's art.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Empty Rooms, 1938

Story illustration for "Leave the Past Behind" by Frederick Merrill Tibbott, The Saturday Evening Post, May 21, 1938

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Marion J. Kaye in memory of her mother,

Helen M. Kerns

In this light-filled painting, a motif of rectangular shapes unifies the composition?from the doorways and window panes to the pattern of sunlight falling across the picture plane. Dunn reminded his students that visual patterns should be "so interwoven that you can't remove anything without ruining the picture."

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

They Want You, c.1938

Story illustration for "Arrival of the Lily Dean" by Walter D. Edmonds, The Saturday Evening Post, May 7, 1938

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Horace and Helen Gilmore Estate

Walter D. Edmonds (1903-1998), best known for his historical novels, wrote a series of stories for The Saturday Evening Post about the mercantile career of John Ames, a character involved in the clipper ship trade. In this painterly work, the story's protagonist has his back to the viewer, though his arrival is clearly anticipated by the gentlemen in the room beyond.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Untitled (Red Cross), 1915

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Purchased through the Ella Ollenberg Estate Bequest

At the start of World War I, the American Red Cross was a small organization in the process of developing its identity and programs. By the time the war ended in November 1918, the organization had become an important humanitarian organization with a large membership base, international recognition, and a distinguished record of service. In Dunn's painting, a Red Cross nurse appears almost as an angel overseeing her wounded charges.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

May Street, 1922

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Hilton M. Briggs

The woman featured in this luminous work is May Street, the wife of illustrator Frank Street (1893-1944), who studied with Harvey Dunn at his school in Leonia, New Jersey, in 1915. The greatest area of definition and contrast in this contemplative work is seen within and around the sitter's face, which is its focal point.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Eleanor Burnet, 1906

Oil on Canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Friends Fund Purchase

The figure of Dunn's model, Eleanor Burnet, is central to this painting, its true subject is the play of light on form. Illumination spilling from the open door and from the window in this composition defines the woman's shape, though her face remains in shadow. Eleanor Burnet posed for several of Howard Pyle's students in 1906, including Dunn, and this painting is a rare early example of this art from this period.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Portrait of Helen Gilmore, 1948

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Horace and Helen Gilmore Estate

Helen Gilmore was the wife of painter/illustrator Horace Gilmore (1903-1999), a student of Harvey Dunn who specialized in seafaring scenes. The sitter's fair skin and peach-colored blouse stand out against the rich dark background, and her relaxed pose is emphasized by the loose, purposeful arrangement of her elegant fingers and hands.

Harvey Dunn (1884-1952)

Untitled (Portrait of a Man with a Cane), n.d.

Oil on canvas

South Dakota Art Museum Collection, Gift of Deborah Dunn Wessells

When teaching figure study for illustrators, it was and remains typical to emphasize work from both the nude model and the clothed figure. Most illustrations for magazines advertisements were focused on narratives focusing on people during the twentieth century. Artists were expected to master the human form, and be able to use clothing to describe both body mass and human characteristics. In this work, we glean a general sense of this gentleman through Dunn's treatment of his posture, clothing, hands, and facial expression.

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

The Other Side, 1918

Story illustration for "The Other Side" by F. Britten Austin in Redbook,October 1918

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Previously published in the London magazine, The Strand, this striking illustration by Dean Cornwell accompanied a story by F. Britten Austin (1885-1941) about a WWI army captain. The Other Side examined spiritual experiences that occurred during wartime, and in this piece, Cornwell portrays the story's nurse in angelic form, embracing its main subject. Nurses were frequently portrayed as angel-helpers during the World War I era. Framed by her luminous wings, a battle rages along the upper edge of the work, though the captain is at peace.

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

It's Hard to Explain Murder, 1920

Story illustration for "Find the Woman" by Arthur Somers Roche, Cosmopolitan, January 1921

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

A serialized novel published by Cosmopolitan, "Find the Woman" was written by acclaimed American mystery writer Arthur Somers Roche (1883-1935) and illustrated by Dean Cornwell. A student of Harvey Dunn in Leonia, New Jersey and at the Art Students League in New York, he also studied with British muralist Frank Brandwyn (1857-1956), and had a successful illustration career. An exceptional draughtsman and painter, he was equally comfortable creating imagery for romance, adventure, and biblical stories, and accepted serialized commissions for books by noted authors Pearl S. Buck, Lloyd Douglas, Edna Ferber, Ernest Hemingway, and W. Somerset Maugham, among others. This striking work employs an off-kilter diagonal composition to express this couple's dark moment of realization after a murder has been committed. Cornwell was one of Dunn's most successful protégés.

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

$2,000 Dollar Reward, 1920

Story illustration for "$2,000 Dollar Reward" by Alma and Paul Eberle, Cosmopolitan, March 1924

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Dean Cornwell's bird's eye perspective and dramatic lighting gives this work a cinematic perspective, a quality that engaged viewers with his art. Known as the "Dean of Illustrators" for his exceptional talents, Cornwell taught at the Art Students League, as Dunn had. "An important difference between a fine artist and an illustrator is that the former goes through life painting the things that he sees before him, while the latter is forced to paint something that neither he nor anyone else has ever seen, and make it appear real," he said. "The true measure of an illustrator is his ability to take a subject about which he may have neither interest nor information, tackle it with everything he's got, and make the finished picture look like the consummation of his life's ambition."

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

Untitled [Couple under a Loggia], 1921

Oil on canvas

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

Like Harvey Dunn, illustrator Dean Cornwell considered a painting to be much more than a sum of its parts. "I have always started without drawing in the charcoal first but with lots of medium and very large brushes working entirely in tone and mass," he said of his process. "In laying in your picture this way after a few hours at a distance of twenty or thirty feet your canvas should look complete and finished." His use of models to refine the details of character and expression was not considered until after his overall composition and lighting was set, as in this painting of a couple in dappled sunshine.

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

_"_Ah!" said Tamea, "You do not believe, then, that I am the Queen of Riva?", 1923

Story illustration for "Never the Twain Shall Meet"by Peter B. Kyne in Cosmopolitan, 1923

Oil on canvas

35.5 x 20 inches

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

For this tale of adventure, Cornwall focuses attention on Tamea, the ship captain's daughter who is also the queen of Riva, a small island in the South Seas. The artist identifies her with a distinctly-patterned dress accented with a red sash, distinguishing her from the scene's all male cast, who wear blander military or sea-faring garb. As in the paintings of Howard Pyle and Harvey Dunn, the artist places the viewer on the deck of the ship in close proximity to his characters.

Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)

Everything was as John Keith had Left it That Night, 1919

Story illustration for "The River's End" by James Oliver Curwood, Good Housekeeping,May 1919; and The River's End,Cosmopolitan Book Corp, NY, 1919

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Author James Oliver Curwood (1878-1927) was an American action-adventure writer and conservationist. His books ranked among Publisher's Weekly top-ten best sellers in the United States in the early 1920s, and at least eighteen motion pictures have been based on or directly inspired by his novels and short stories. At the time of his death, he was the highest paid (per word) author in the world. His writing studio, Curwood Castle, is now a museum in Owosso, Michigan. In his story, The River's End, two men who resemble each other physically lead very different lives?one is a member of the Northwest Mounted Police and another is an outlaw. A tone of suspense is evident in this beautiful and mysterious portrayal.

Harold Von Schmidt (1893-1982)

Wing Walkers, 1929

Story illustration for "Lovers Leap" by Laurence Stallings in Liberty Magazine, April 6, 1929

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

"He vanished literally into the air. Hale fell upon his belly on the wing and looked below," read the Liberty Magazine caption for this dramatic image. Harold Von Schmidt was an accomplished artist who had studied with western painter Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) and worked at a billboard advertising agency before making his way to the nation's publishing center, where he attended Dunn's New York class.

Harold Von Schmidt (1893-1982)

Forgiven, 1926

Illustration for Cosmopolitan

Oil on canvas

Collection of The Illustrated Gallery

As a teacher, Harvey Dunn was in the habit of moving through the classroom to see how his students were progressing as they worked. In order to help them see something he felt they might be missing, he overpainted their work to emphasize his point. Harold Von Schmidt once saved a canvas in which illustrator N.C. Wyeth, a friend and former classmate of Dunn's, filled in as his substitute teacher. Wyeth, who also used this practice, painted directly over Von Schmidt's canvas. When Dunn returned to class, however, he disagreed with these critiques, and made corrections to both Wyeth's and Von Schmidt's work. Von Schmidt learned something about the subjectivity of artistic vision from that experience, vowing to learn all he could, but remain true to himself.

James Edward Allen (1894-1964)

Bride of the Sacred Well, 1927

Illustration for "The Bells of Culican" by Emma Lindsay Squier, Good Housekeeping, May 1927, and Bride of the Sacred Well and Other Tales of Ancient Mexico by Emma Lindsay Squier, Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, NY, 1928

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

James Edward Allen was a printmaker, illustrator, and painter who studied extensively with Harvey Dunn, often emulating the painterly style of his teacher's work. He would eventually go on to focus on his painting career, and his work is featured in numerous museum collections, including the Library of Congress, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, and Cincinnati Art Museum.

Saul Tepper (1899-1987)

Courtroom, 1927

Story illustration for "People Against Van Teel" by Thomas McMorrow, The Saturday Evening Post, April 30, 1927

Oil on canvas?

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

An accomplished character painter, Saul Tepper grew up on New York's Lower East Side, and found rich pictorial possibilities in his urban heritage. Aspiring to be a magazine illustrator, he won an art correspondence course and later studied at Cooper Union. At the Art Students League, he sought out Harvey Dunn, who encouraged him to maintain the focus necessary to become a top illustrator in the field. Tepper enjoyed a prolific illustration career, and would go on to teach at Cooper Union and Pratt Institute, passing Dunn's legacy on to future generations. The subtle and expressive body language in this scene conveys the tension inherent in the courtroom proceedings.

Saul Tepper (1899-1987)

Fantasy End, 1928

Story illustration for "Fantasy End" by Fannie Kilbourne, Ladies' Home Journal, September 1928

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Saul Tepper looked back "with gratitude for [Dunn's] teaching and guidance, and in admiration for this great man." "He taught us with tenderness and a gentle understanding at times, and occasionally with an authoritarian dominance. He never said 'no' to anyone who asked for his help.He was the greatest painter-illustrator America has ever produced, and as a teacher was at his unchallenged best." This painterly image of a young couple illuminated by the moon and the glow of light through the window behind them is reminiscent of Dunn's approach to picturemaking.

Saul Tepper (1899-1987)

Man and Woman in Conversation, n.d.

Oil on canvas

Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of Robert T. Horvath

A master of the vignette, Saul Tepper connects this couple who are engaged in intensive conversation with a dark horizontal table and the pattern of objects -- including books, papers, and a telephone -- that act as a bridge between them.

Saul Tepper (1899-1987)

Empathy, n.d.

Oil on canvas

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

Mead Schaeffer (1898-1980)

The Count of Monte Cristo, 1928

Illustration for The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Dodd Mead & Company, NY, 1928

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Trained by both Harvey Dunn and Dean Cornwell, Mead Schaeffer's style was a melding of that of his two teachers. His deft handling of light and dark in compositions of limited color palettes reinforced his ability to express drama and create impact within relatively simple compositions. This powerful work for The Count of Monte Cristo focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. Though detail is limited and much of the figure is cast in shadow, emotion is conveyed through his facial expression and the use of stark, contrasting colors.

Mead Schaeffer (1898-1980)

Forbidden Lover, 1932

Story illustration for "Forbidden Lover" by Rafael Sabatini, The Ladies' Home Journal,July1932

Oil on canvas

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

This story illustration created in black and blue reflects a penchant by magazines in the 1920s and 1930s to publish two color interior illustrations rather than four. Full color printing was more expensive and more often reserved for cover art and advertisements.

Mead Schaeffer (1898-1980)

Hide the Body, 1933

Story illustration for "Hide the Body" by Grace Sartwell Mason, Cosmopolitan, 1933

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Mead Schaeffer developed a close friendship with Norman Rockwell (1874-1978) when the two illustrators lived and worked in Arlington, Vermont in the late 1930s and 1940s. Rockwell and Schaeffer, along with illustrator John Atherton (1900-1952), discussed art and critiqued each other's compositions. Rockwell admired Schaeffer's virtuoso abilities, as in this stirring painting created with luxurious sweeps of oil paint.

Mead Schaeffer (1898-1980)

The Black Buccaneer, 1929

Oil on paperboard

Illustration for The Black Buccaneer by Stephen Warren Meader, Harcourt Brace and Co., NY, 1929

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Mead Schaeffer became well known for his engaging portrayals of classic adventure stories, including The Black Buccanner, the first juvenile publication of the newly founded Harcourt, Brace, and Howe.

Dan Content (1902-1990)

Golden to the Winds, 1929

Story illustration for "Golden to the Winds" by Achmed Abdullah, Good Housekeeping, September 1929

Oil on canvas

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

Dan Content

Act of Faith, 1928

"An Act of Faith," Rafael Sabatini, McCall's, September 1928

Oil on canvas

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

A precocious talent, Dan Content studied at Pratt Institute and the Art Students League in New York, and advanced rapidly as an artist under Harvey Dunn's tutelage. At the age of twenty-one, he sold his first illustrations to McCall's magazine, and went on to illustrate for the nation's most prominent publications, including Collier's, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping, throughout his long career. After a thirty year career as a freelance artist, he went on to become an director and an abstract painter and sculptor.

Frank Street (1893-1944)

Conductor, 1924

Story illustration for "The Long Distance Train" by William Babington Maxwell, The Home Magazine, November 1924; and Collier's, May 30, 1925

Oil on paper

Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of Robert T. Horvath

Frank Street was a member of Harvey Dunn's first class at the Leonia School of Illustration in 1915. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he was a capable and prolific artist who illustrated for major magazines, created landscapes for exhibition, painted portraits, and conducted art classes from his working studio.

Frank Street (1893-1944)

Sea Captains, 1920

Oil on canvas

Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Henry C. Pitz (1895-1976)

Song Peddler, n.d.

Ink on paper

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

Born in Philadelphia, Henry C. Pitz was an American illustrator, editor, author and teacher who wrote and illustrated almost two hundred books about the art history and techniques, including The Brandywine Tradition, A Treasury of American Book Illustration, and 200 Years of American Illustration. Skilled as a narrative storyteller and pen and ink artist, Pitz served as director of the illustration program at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, and was a contributing editor for American Artist magazine.

Henry C. Pitz (1895-1976)

The Long Brown Hand of the Priest Sprinkled Fresh Fuel on the Basin, Making it Fume and Flare, 1929

Illustration for The Red Prior's Legacy by Alfred H. Bill, Longmans, Green and Company, London, NY, 1931

Ink on board

Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of The Kelly Collection of American Illustration

Henry C. Pitz (1895-1976)

Legardian's Hand Flashed from His Sash to Meet Him, 1929

Illustration for The Red Prior's Legacy by Alfred H. Bill, Longmans, Green and Company, London, NY, 1931

Ink on board

Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of Robert T. Horvath

A story for young people, The Red Prior's Legacy, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz, told the imaginative tale of the adventures of an American boy in the French Revolution.

Amos Sewell (1901-1983)

Hospital Visit, 1961

Cover illustration for _The Saturday Evening Post,_April 29, 1961

Oil on board

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

A native of San Francisco, California, artist Amos Sewell became a ranked amateur tennis player before attending night classes at the California School of Fine Arts. He made his way to New York by working on a lumber boat that traveled through the Panama Canal, and took classes with Harvey Dunn at the Art Students League and the Grand Central School of Art. Sewell became known for his humorous, homespun depictions of children and families, which appeared regularly in The Saturday Evening Post,The Country Gentleman, Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping, and other national publications. The artist completed fifty-seven covers for the Post, including this amusing portrayal of a hospital visit that is not going well from the patient's point of view.

Harry Beckoff

After the Trip, n.d.

Watercolor and ink

Collection of Illustrated Gallery

From the late 1920s to the early 1960s, Harry Beckhoff created stylish, humorous illustrations for many books and magazines, most notably Collier's. Playful and full of movement, his eye-catching artworks are almost deceptively simple. Beckhoff had a unique approach to executing his work; he designed small but accurate thumbnails sketches that even included clearly defined facial expressions. For his final work, these would be blown up to about five times their initial size. The artist was influenced by French illustrators Charles Martin, Pierre Brissaud, and Andre Marty, and he studied at the Art Students League with George Bridgman, Harvey Dunn, and Dean Cornwell, whom he recognized for their encouragement and training.

Mario Cooper (1905-1995)

Bullfight, n.d.

Ink and watercolor on paper

Eisenstat Collection of Illustration/Courtesy of Alice Carter and Courtney Granner

Mario Cooper readily absorbed Dunn's teaching and his work was often held up as an example of the principles explored in class. The artist instigated the publishing of An Evening in the Classroom; a selected transcription of Dunn's classroom critiques, which were gathered in book form and released in 1934. A prolific illustrator, he became a widely-exhibited watercolorist, and taught for many years at The Grand Central School of Art, National Academy School of Art, Columbia University, and Art Students League.

Wilmot Emerton Heitland (1892-1969)

In the Artist's Studio, Two Men, n.d.

Story illustration for "Muslin Hands"

Gouache on illustration board

Eisenstat Collection of Illustration/Courtesy of Alice Carter and Courtney Granner

Wilmot Emerton Heitland studied traditional painting techniques with Harvey Dunn and Walter Biggs, but established a sleek, stylized look for his illustrations inspired by Art Deco movement of the 1920s and 1930s. A master watercolorist and outstanding pen and ink artist, he created his first illustrations for Collier's Weekly in 1922, and went on to work for many important publications, including _McCall's_and Woman's Home Companion, among others.

Wilmot Emerton Heitland (1892-1969)

Masked Ball, n.d.

Ink on paper

Eisenstat Collection of Illustration/Courtesy of Alice Carter and Courtney Granner

Wilmot Emerton Heitland (1892-1969)

The Tragedy of Nan (Tommy Arker), n.d.

Illustration for The Tragedy of Nan by John Masefield, Macmillan, New York, 1921.

Watercolor on paper

Eisenstat Collection of Illustration/Courtesy of Alice Carter and Courtney Granner

Walt S. Louderback (1887-1941)

The Country Beyond, 1922

Oil on canvas

Cover illustration for The Country Beyond by James Oliver Curwood, Cosmopolitan Book Corp., NY, 1922

The Kelly Collection of American Illustration Art

In The Country Beyond, a big-hearted outlaw, Jolly Roger McKay, is pursued by the Royal Northwest Mounties through the Canadian wilderness in a love story set in the early twentieth century. At one of his hiding spots, McKay falls in love with a young woman named Nada, but feels unworthy of her affections. The couple is portrayed here with Peter, McKay's hound, who follows him through many adventures. Like Harvey Dunn, Louderback worked in an expressive, painterly style that conveyed a sense of drama.

Walt S. Louderback (1887-1941)

Man with Urn, n.d.

Oil on canvas

Collection of The Illustrated Gallery

Walt S. Louderback was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, and illustrated stories of romance and adventure for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Hearst's International, and other popular magazines. During the 1920s, the artist took up residence in Europe, and delivered his assignments to New York by ship. While abroad, he experimented with modernist painting techniques, and returned to the United States in 1939 as war became imminent. The ornate, ancient façade portrayed in this painting may well have been observed first-hand during his time overseas.

John Ford Clymer

Family Picnic, 1952

Cover illustration, The Saturday Evening Post, May 41, 1952

Oil on canvas

Collection of The Illustrated Gallery

Born in Ellensburg, Washington, John Clymer studied art and worked for a mail order catalogue company in Vancouver, British Columbia before moving to New York in 1935. He attended Harvey Dunn's class at the Grand Central School of Art, and in 1937, settled in Westport, Connecticut, home to a thriving community of illustrators. Argosy, Woman's Day, Field and Stream, and The Saturday Evening Post -- for which he produced more than eighty Post covers -- were among the many publishers of his art. During World War II, Clymer and artist Tom Lovell enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and were assigned to create illustrations for Leatherneck Magazine and the Marine Corps Gazette. Known for his carefully painted human interest subjects, Clymer likely drew inspiration for this work from his love of nature and his boyhood spent at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. In 1970, he returned to the West to build a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he was able to concentrate on what he most enjoyed?painting scenes of the Northwest.

John Ford Clymer (1907-1989)

Clearing the Snow, 1960

Cover illustration, The Saturday Evening Post, February 6, 1960

Oil on board

Collection of The Illustrated Gallery

Unique to John Clymer were his illustrations emphasizing the narrative aspects of landscape, as in this lively winter scene. "There was only one drawback about doing covers for the Post," he said. "They went everywhere in the country, and because I picked and painted actual places, there would be several hundred people who lived nearby who'd scrutinize every detail to try to find something wrong. I had to be sure I knew all about everything included in a picture, and why it was there. The Post was good about those things. The only time I had to make a correction on a cover was when I sent in a picture that had an automobile in the foreground. I had completed everything, lights, chrome, trim, spokes, but forgot to paint in the door handle."

Arthur Sarnoff (1912-2000)

Happy New Year, 1958

Illustration for The Progressive Farmer, January 1958

Oil on board

The Collection of The Illustrated Gallery

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Arthur Sarnoff became known for his lighthearted, humorous portrayals of contemporary live, as in this colorful scene of New Year's revelers awaiting the stroke of midnight. A student of Harvey Dunn's at the Grand Central School of Art, he created artworks for a wide spectrum of commercial clients, from Lucky Strike, Listerine, and Vick's Vapo Rub to Coor's and Camay. His illustrations also appeared in many popular magazines, including McCall's, Collier's,Woman's Home Companion, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and_Esquire_.

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