Classic Covers: Happy Birthday, J.C. Leyendecker

We're celebrating the spring birthday of our most prolific cover artist.

Queen of Spring by J. C. Leyendecker

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We’re celebrating the spring birthday of our most prolific cover artist with three very different springtime covers. His 1931 cover we call Queen of Spring is what J.C. Leyendecker (March 23, 1874–July 25, 1951) was known for: an elaborate tapestry of a painting, lush in detail.

Leyendecker also painted delightful cover characters like the very different spring queen on the May 15, 1937, cover: a take-no-prisoners woman ready for spring cleaning.

He was adept at sweet depictions of children, like the two on his April 4, 1908, cover all dressed-up for Easter.

Leyendecker painted covers for a number of magazines in addition to the Post, but perhaps ironically, he is best remembered as the illustrator who created the handsome Arrow Collar Man. But from 1899 all the way through two world wars, he created a glorious body of work for The Saturday Evening Post for which we are most grateful.

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Comments

  1. Queen of Spring is one of Leyendecker’s “ultimate” Saturday Evening Post covers. It really is. His works of art are just jaw dropping. No wonder he was Norman Rockwell’s idol; for goooood reason.

    So happy belated 138th birthday Mr. Leyendecker. Please know your work is very, very appreciated by many people, in particular by those like Diana Denny and myself who absolutely LOVE The Saturday Evening Post–from every era–cover to cover!

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