J. C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator opens at The Hudson River Museum |
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| Sunday, 01 February 2009 03:35 |
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Born in Germany, Leyendecker moved to Chicago as a child, where his first formal training was as an apprentice in a print shop. He studied in Paris and found inspiration in the poster art of Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, developing his own trademark vibrant colors and slashing brushwork. In 1910, Leyendecker moved to New Rochelle in Westchester County. On Mount Tom Lane he built a home and many of the flowers in his works were based on oil studies of blooms in his garden.  Illustration was thriving at the turn of the twentieth century. Paintings were commercially printed to illustrate and to sell publications and products. Photographs, still black and white, could not compete with good illustration art for energy, drama, and eye-catching color. Leyendecker is remembered today for magazine covers, an evolving modern form of marketing he helped elevate to high artistry. He was celebrated for his special holiday illustrations for New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas issues of The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s magazine, Century Illustrated and many others. Ironically, one of his greatest admirers was his neighbor Norman Rockwell. Where Rockwell is remembered for scenes of family and farm life, Leyendecker painted scenes of intense sensuality. His debonair Arrow Collar Man came to be regarded as the ideal male. Courtesy of The Haggin Museum, Stockton, California. The Hudson River Museum collects 19th- and 20th-c. American art and cultural, social and historical material related to the Museum's historic Mansion and the wider Westchester County/Hudson River Valley region. Though the Museum's collecting focus has evolved over its 84-year history, the trustees and staff have always been concerned with the institution's value and relevance to the surrounding region and its residents. The majority of the collections have been donated by Museum members and other local residents. Visit The Hudson River Museum at : http://www.hrm.org/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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