Artist: Anton Otto Fischer; Title: "Sailboat Regatta"; Copyright: 1934 SEPS. All Rights Reserved.;
Anton Otto Fischer
Like many prominent Post cover artists, Anton Otto Fischer, noted for his stunning seascapes, did work between the magazine’s covers as well. Fischer illustrated well over 400 stories for the Post. So associated is he with resplendent masted ships and sailboats on choppy waves (where the observer can almost taste the salt air), one tends to forget he painted characters as well as sea scenes for the Cappy Ricks stories beginning in 1915, the Mr. Glencannon series beginning in 1930, and Tugboat Annie, 1931. He confessed his favorite character was “that old reprobate Glencannon,” with the big broom moustache.
U.S. Navy Commander Lincoln Lothrop had once written to the artist: “My two lads, one of whom is now a twenty-two-year-old lieutenant in the Navy … used to cut out your pictures and pin them on the walls of their rooms. … You are responsible for recruiting many a seagoing lad.” They must have been brave lads, for Fischer’s paintings not only depicted the majestic beauty of the oceans, but the terrors they held as well.
Fischer was invited to lunch one day by none other than Vice Admiral Russell Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard for the purpose of recruiting. The January 9, 1943, Post describes it thus: “Did the admiral know that he was an anti-New Dealer? The admiral didn’t know—or care. But did the admiral know that he was born in Germany? Oh, yes, the admiral knew that, all right; his record had been checked.
“That record included, among other things, the fact that young Fischer had come to America as a deck hand on a German vessel, that he sacrificed two months’ pay to obtain his freedom, and then sailed on American ships for three years.”
By late that same afternoon, Fischer was sworn in as a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard. “His duties? Putting on canvas some of the heroic deeds of our Merchant Mariners and Coast Guardsmen—the least-publicized men, perhaps, in all of our armed forces.”
This called for a wartime sacrifice at The Saturday Evening Post. Concluded the 1943 story, “and that is why Fischer’s glorious living seascapes will be out of the Post for the duration.”
Also known for illustrating books such as Moby Dick, Treasure Island, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Anton Otto Fischer died far from his beloved coastlines in the Catskill Mountains of Woodstock, New York, in 1962 at the age of 70.
Anton Otto Fischer "Chinese Junk" 1931
Anton Otto Fischer "Storm at Sea" 1931
Anton Otto Fischer "Red Sky at Morning" 1932
Anton Otto Fischer "Yacht and Steamship" 1932
Anton Otto Fischer "Wave Breaks over Steamer" 1936
Anton Otto Fischer "Spanish Galleon" 1936
Anton Otto Fischer "Trim the Sails!" 1933
Anton Otto Fischer "Yachts at Sea" 1933
Anton Otto Fischer "Ice Boating" 1929
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10 Comments ( Post a Comment )
What wonderful artwork! I long for the days when magazine covers could be framed instead of hidden from the children. Excellent write-up about the artist!
Did Mr Fischer serve aboard the USS Hunter Liggett in 1944? My Grandfather, Edward E Hahn Jr. used to tell us of a well-known artist on his ship at that period.
The only information I can find states that Fischer served as a lieutenant commander on the Coast Guard cutter, Campbell. I can’t rule out the USS Hunter Liggett, but I find no information at this time connecting Fischer with that ship. At least one other Post cover artist, Mead Schaeffer, who did many WWII covers, was often a guest on a PT Boat or coast guard patrol boat, but again, I see no particulars connecting him with the ship in question. Not ruling it out! Just can’t confirm. Diana Denny, Archives
I have seen a beautiful painting of a Boat with Marbelhead on it by this Artist. Are these paintings worth a lot of money.
I am researching a painting signed Anton Fischer lower right corner. The theme is a hunter walking in a hilly clearing who is approaching his dog (mottled white. pointer?). There are lovely fall colors in the surrounding trees (a large reddish tree in background takes center stage) and a trademark “turqoise” sky. We think it appeared on the cover of the Sat. Even. Post around early/mid 1940′s. Does anyone know of this piece or have suggestions for getting valid info? Thank you.
I have one of Anton’s paintings. On the back it is labeled “A Goboto Night”. Do you have any information about this painting?
Is that first painting above painted by Anton or Amos Fischer?
I have an Anton Otto Fischer painting dated 1930 depicting a man pointing a gun at eight other angry men in a small sail boat at sea with two sharks in the water near the boat. The painting was handed down to me through the family and I am trying to get information about the painting. There is no title on the back.
I have come across an Anton Otto Fisher painting
I think it is painted was hanging in a frame in my
fathers basement. It has 1933 and signature in lower
right corner. It is of clay colored rocks with waves splashing
looking for information regarding.
Diana – I enjoyed reading your article about Anton Otto Fischer. It was particularly interesting to me as the U.S. Navy Commander that you cited, “Lincoln Lothrop”, was my grandfather. The two young lads mentioned in the letter must have been my father and his brother. The two brothers were the “lads” pasting Anton Otto Fischer pictures on their walls. They both had a love for the sea and both joined the navy. My father entered the Naval Academy in the late thirties. He and several friends started the Academy sailing team. Following graduation, my father served on several Navy Destroyers, fought in WWII, rose through the ranks and, at one point, was the Executive Officer of the Battleship Wisconsin (BB-64). And it all started with a love for the sea and pictures by Anton Otto Fischer.
I have a picture fitting the same description as that of Lisa Sims above. Mine is, however, not an oil painting, but could possibly be water colors. I’ve often wondered about it, because it has been in our family for many years. I finally got around to doing some research on the artist, which led me to your website. Is it possible that this picture is worth something, or is it merely a reproduction of an oil painting?