Prom Memento

Whitmore’s sultry illustrations were usually viewed by the editors as too risqué for the cover. Yet this fashionable teenage girl was judged wholesome enough for public display.

The use of light in this composition draws one’s attention to a keepsake from a special evening. Notice the attention to detail: the mundane items in the refrigerator, the dance card and gloves tossed onto a counter, and a clock reading close to 1:30 a.m. The white of the dress and refrigerator door get a punch of color from a fringed fuchsia shawl.

Whitmore knew that he wanted to be an artist before he graduated high school. After attending the Dayton Art Institute he moved to Chicago where he worked with Post illustrators Ben Stahl and Thornton Utz. In the early 1940s, Whitmore moved to New York, where he spent the bulk of his career. He worked with Jon Whitcomb at the well-respected Cooper studio. And throughout the 1940s and 1950s, according to artist blogger Leif Peng, hardly an issue of Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping went by without story and/or advertising art by Whitmore and Whitcomb.

Fishing Season

While the wife in this illustration at left bemoans a husband who finds lures more alluring than she, Post editors were pleased to note that Whitmore’s own spouse was not a fishing widow. “The only time her artist husband ever went fishing, he dragged a vast pike into his boat, and the pike got sore and made terrifying passes at him. Whitmore slew the beast finally with his shoe, and turned to another hobby—extra fast automobiles.” At the time of this cover, the Whitmores owned a “super-sports model Jaguar” and were “getting their fun out of knowing they could zoom the hooded cyclone up 130 mph if they dared.”

1950 was also the year Whitmore helped design a unique and highly successful racecar, the Fitch-Whitmore Le Mans Special.

Money on Her Mind

“These were Coby Whitmore’s women and they were the ideal for 30 years,” said the Society of Illustrators as Whitmore was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1978. “They were sunny blondes, curled up on couches, or creamy brunettes gazing over champagne glasses.”

They were also stunning redheads with Audrey Hepburn hairdos, like the illustration at left from the 1960 Post short story, “Money on Her Mind” by Willard Temple. The Hepburn-inspired coif was no accident. According to illustration expert Walt Reed in Great American Illustrators, Whitmore had to have “a thorough knowledge of fashion trends. Since the pictures oftentimes were not published until several months after being painted, styles chosen had to be advanced enough to avoid looking dated when they appeared.”

The Lady and the Landlord

“He stopped talking and put his arms around her. There was no resistance worth recording.” This provocative caption appeared below the Whitmore illustration at left. The caption, pulled from the Post story “The Lady and the Landlord,” is what Reed defines as “the clinch,” or the logical highlight in a romantic storyline. Variations on a romantic embrace would seem to be limited, Reed notes, but “Whitmore always came up with something new.” The industrious illustrator also created romantic scenes for McCall’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, among others.

Lightning Storm

“Racing cars, illustrating, and smart clothes on good-looking women,” Whitmore said these were his three primary interests. While Whitmore the racer was simply indulging in a hobby, Whitmore the artist was a fastidious professional who, writes Reed, was “so inventive over so long a time in doing variations on the theme of ‘boy meets girl.’” Though in this 1958 illustration, he depicted what happens after boy meets girl.

The Visitor

More than just another provocative pose, this often-overlooked Whitmore illustration is an elegant study in pastels. The accompanying story, “The Visitor” by Audrey A. Boughton, was not a typical romance, but a story of a widow who receives a letter from a past love.

The beauty of Coby Whitmore went well beyond his skill with a paintbrush; according to the Society of Illustrators, he was “a dashing fellow” with a penchant for white suits and “a child’s delight in all things. A man of genuine humility, he seems truly not to know how good he is. Bob Levering [Whitmore’s co-worker and a fellow Post artist], characterized him as having a ‘great, ambling confused amiability. And underneath he’s sharp as a razor blade.’”

Couple Kissing at Piano

It must have been like having a movie star for a sibling, being the “oh, yeah, you’re the brother” guy. Frank Xavier Leyendecker was born in Germany in 1879 (or ’76 or ’77, depending upon the source) and from boyhood, he seemed to be something of an afterthought. After enjoying early success, Frank’s demons of inferiority complex and substance abuse ruled.

This cover is from 1907.

Dancing at Dutch Pete’s

Although the family immigrated to America in 1882, primogeniture still held some sway to the Leyendecker parents, who were determined that older brother Joe (J.C.) receive the training required for future success. They were somewhat less concerned with their younger son’s prospects, but J.C. conscientiously worked to bring young Frank and his talent along with him, including to Paris in 1886 to study at the Acadèmie Julian.

This 1903 cover, Dancing at Dutch Pete’s, appears to have retained a bit of the Parisian influence the brothers enjoyed.

Girl Playing Piano

Paris was the heart of the international art world, and Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler, authors of a book on J.C., write: “At 22 years of age, J.C. was already considered to be an upcoming art figure alongside such luminaries as … Alphonse Maria Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.” J.C. was considered the biggest talent to attend the academy in many years, which could be one reason that, while there, “J.C. studied diligently while F.X. tended to focus more on drinking, drugs and carousing with the other art students,” according to art blogger Donald Pittenger.

The little girl playing “The Maiden’s Prayer” is from 1911.

Ohio Electric Ad

Like his more successful brother, Frank did commercial work. J.C. was extremely successful in ad work; his Arrow Collar man became an icon and the account enjoyed a lucrative 25-year run. He was also industrious with elegant ads for Kuppenheimer men’s clothing and others. Younger brother Frank had a bit of an attitude about doing advertisements, feeling he was destined for fine arts. Michael Schau, author of another tome on J.C. Leyendecker, writes, “Whether or not he (Frank) lacked the vision or self-confidence to attempt such work is hard to tell”.

This 1912 ad for Ohio Electric shows elegantly attired folks (and one topiary-styled poodle) with “the only five passenger electric that can be driven from both the front and rear seats”. While we’re not sure why the electric car didn’t stick around in the early days, it is perhaps not surprising that that particular steering feature did not last.

November 1914 cover from Vanity Fair

Frank’s earliest success was with Collier’s magazine around the turn of the century. He also did work for Life magazine and, as we see in this stunning 1914 cover, Vanity Fair. The richness of color is a reminder that Frank was also a stained glass artist and designer. It is also a reminder that, like his brother J.C., Frank’s diversity of style was amazing. The fragment of his work shown here illustrates passionate, cute, romantic and elegant scenes. We’ll add one more style: the realistic and poignant (see below).

Soldier Writes Mother Letter

In this 1918 cover, a soldier writes by candlelight and in the background we see the sweet white-haired recipient of his letter. It is Frank’s only cover for Country Gentleman magazine, a sister publication to The Saturday Evening Post, for whom he did 17 covers. As we have indicated, the Post was by no means their only client, but it is illustrative of the hard-working nature of J.C. that he had done well over 130 covers for them by this time (he was to become the magazine’s most prolific artist, with 322 covers). Although the creative genius was there, Frank became more depressed and less productive as J.C.’s star continued to rise. After a dispute with J.C.’s partner, Charles Beach, J.C., who had always stayed with his brother, moved out. The Cutler book on J.C. Leyendecker states: “With nothing else left, no place in the fraternal relationship, a broken spirit, and overshadowed by J.C.’s successes, Frank lapsed further into his sad indulgences.” Depression, heavy drinking, smoking and drug use culminated in his death at 45 in April of 1924.

J.C. Leyendecker

“I began working for The Saturday Evening Post in 1916,” wrote Norman Rockwell, “and Leyendecker was my God.”

There are parallels between the two great illustrators, who later became friends. Both had very long careers with the Post: 45 years for Joseph Christian Leyendecker (from 1898 to 1943) and 47 years for Rockwell (from 1916 to 1963). Each artist created more than 300 Post covers.

“Hurdy-Gurdy Man”

Street or barrel organs were popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Although this century-old cover may be charming to us, the organs were not popular with everyone. According to Wikipedia, the organ grinders were often considered a nuisance and the cranking made some cranky. Charles Dickens complained that he couldn’t get a half hour’s writing in before one of those blasted organs disturbed him.

“To ask outright for money is a crime,” later echoed George Orwell, “yet it is perfectly legal to annoy ones’ fellow citizens by pretending to entertain them.” Be that as it may, the delightful little girls here are having a jolly time.

“Littlest Soldier”

Leyendecker did a dozen Post covers revolving around World War I, from the tragic to the fairly light, as in “The Littlest Soldier” from 1916. Although it really isn’t light fare, considering that the children are undoubtedly acting out a scene they have witnessed among grown-ups.

Like the cover above, Leyendecker designed this to be noticed on newsstands to carry “further because a good cover has a distinct silhouette,” he noted in a 1932 Post story. “It should, too, tell its story in pantomime. A cover that carries an explanatory legend defeats itself.”

“Knight in Shining Armor”

This is the kind of opulent illustration many think of when they hear the name Leyendecker. Milady has found her knight in shining armor on his lavishly bedecked steed. Leyendecker was born in 1874 and grew up in Montabaur, Germany, a tiny town that goes back to the year 959. A medieval town wall, Crusader influence, and ancient buildings surely fueled the artist’s fascination with the middle ages, in particular coats of arms and armor. We’re not sure what the coat of arms carried by our knight on this 1926 cover symbolizes, but the golden banner at the bottom says “lune de miel,” a French phrase that means honeymoon.

“Kuppenheimer Ad”

Leyendecker illustrated ads for Kuppenheimer men’s clothing, Arrow Shirts and others. Whether in ads or on Post covers, Leyendecker’s women and men tended to be beautifully dressed. The young lady in this 1929 ad was Phyllis Frederic. According to the book J.C. Leyendecker by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler, Phyllis “passed Joe’s (J.C.’s) studio almost daily on her way to meet her father at (Norman) Rockwell’s studio.” Her dad, William Frederic, better known as “Pops,” is familiar to you if you’re a Rockwell follower, as he posed for that artist for several Post covers (see below).” (The name is spelled “Frederic” in the Cutler book; other sources spell it “Fredericks”)

“George Washington on Horseback”

The first president was a popular theme with illustrators, especially for the Fourth of July, as in this 1927 cover. Leyendecker chose a heroic pose for Washington, who was a cover subject 10 times, 5 times by Leyendecker. Although we doubt the general had been blessed with such an elegant saddle, we agree with the artist—he should have been. Leyendecker portraits on Post covers included Kaiser Wilhelm II, and a delightful rendering of William Howard Taft (see presidential covers).

“Living Mannequin”

If you look up Leyendecker in a pricey, high-end art book, much of what you will see are his more elegant, lavish illustrations, such as the “Knight in Shining Armor” above. Often overlooked or forgotten are his comic renderings.

The bottom line is that Leyendecker had more diversity of illustrative work than almost any artist. Some are humorous or cute, like our 1932 “model” here. His 300 Post covers, depict more than four decades of the heartrending (a devastated WWI mother receiving “the dreaded telegram”), the practical (a current politician), the fun, and of course, the elegant.