Father and Time

No real farmer sees a clock at this advanced hour. Editors of Country Gentleman, from the same publisher as the Post, said of this 1946 painting, “Griffith may have been thinking of his own design for living when he painted this nine-o’clock farmer.” Echoed the artist: “I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee, and was brought up under the quaint old Southern theory that nothing is quite as important as a man’s politics, hot buttermilk biscuits, and plenty of sleep.”

This cover is one of seven Griffith did for Country Gentleman and the weather-hardened farmer with a soft spot for animals is reminiscent of Rockwell’s beloved Farmer and the Bird (below).

Farmer and the Bird

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) was a New York City slicker who loved depicting the ideal rural life. Notable among his country scenes were the 15 covers of Cousin Reginald, a city boy visiting his country cousins, that the artist did for our sister publication, Country Gentleman.

The contrast between the ruggedness of the farmer and his gentleness with the fledgling make this 1923 cover an endearing work. “If you are interested in the characters that you draw,” Rockwell said, “and understand them and love them, why, the person who sees your picture is bound to feel the same way.”

Basket of Kittens in the Barn

This 1924 cover of a farmer’s predicament was typical of the lighthearted themes depicted by artist Reginald Bolles (1877-1967). This was one of four Country Gentleman covers by the Cape Cod native who also did one Saturday Evening Post cover. In addition to book illustrations, Bolles also illustrated covers for Modern Priscilla (1887-1930), a women’s publication.

Snowy Farm Scene

Far-flung relatives begin gathering for the holidays in this cheerful 1953 cover by Charlotte Joan Sternberg (1920-2003). Charming scenes of the New England countryside were a common theme for this Connecticut-born artist, but this farm was really close to home.

Her neighbor, dairyman Clayton Robert Hall, whose family had farmed the 140 acres near Meriden since the early 1800s, guided the artist through the farm, which she began to paint the previous summer when the surrounding landscape was still green. The photo below shows the artist and farmer, along with a couple of disinterested cows, consulting on the illustration destined to become a magazine cover.

Best known for her Americana landscapes, many of which can be viewed at The Art of Charlotte Joan Sternberg website; she was a successful commercial artist and painted portraits, including one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Sleeping Farmer

This landscape from 1947 was about as sentimental as artist John Atherton got. Most of his 47 Saturday Evening Post covers were still life studies, or a factory, a grain elevator, etc. He detested human-interest or sentimental covers.

Once he asked his friend Norman Rockwell what he was working on. “Oh, you don’t want to know, Jack,” Rockwell replied. Atherton insisted until a very reluctant Rockwell spilled the sappy details of a painting for a Boy Scout calendar where the boys are looking reverently at a cloudy image of George Washington praying. “Jack grunted horribly and grabbed at his back, twisting about in his chair as if he’d been stabbed,” Rockwell recalled. “But Jack was deeply loyal. If anyone else disparaged my work, he’d light into them.” Atherton knew what he was good at and that nobody was better than Rockwell at what he did.

Surveying the Cow Pasture

It is intimidating to have several large beasts staring at you while you work. Fortunately, despite their full-sized figures, they tend to be gentle animals. The surveyor’s biggest fear should be stepping in a cow pie.

Artist Amos Sewell illustrated 45 Saturday Evening Post covers, and well over a hundred fictional stories within the magazine.

Yakima River Cattle Roundup

“When I got into my early teens, like all boys, I got to wondering what in the world could I do to make a living and live in the mountains? One day I got to thinking about it and thought, That’s it! I’ll paint pictures and then I can live wherever I want to live,” said John Clymer. Where he lived as a boy was not far from this view of the Yakima River in Washington.

For 20 years, from 1942 to 1962, Clymer illustrated nearly 90 Post covers, most of them scenic and many, like this one from 1958, pretty enough to momentarily take your breath away. He and his father did not round up cattle as we see here, but editors inform us that they did fish the Yakima “for trout and, furthermore, caught some.”

Slow Mooving Traffic

Well, this is disruptive. One might say—all together now—udder chaos. Artist Ben Prins got the idea for this illustration, which was his first Post cover, because he had been in a similar situation where he “performed heroically as one of the toreadors,” claimed Post editors.

Little Cowboy Takes a Licking

The little cowpoke is certainly dressed for the part, but we wonder if he will ever be a hardcore ranch hand. This 1938 cover was by our most prolific artist, J.C. Leyendecker. He illustrated Post covers over a remarkable time span, from 1899 to 1943, often sumptuous and elaborate art of elegant ladies or gentlemen. So it comes as a delightful surprise when we find the artist’s humorous side.

Shoo the Moos

Before dragging grandma and baby through the barbed-wire fence, dad might want to wait and see if the cows will cooperate and vacate this ideal picnic spot (click on the artwork for a larger image).

Post editors noted that the bovines were not all that obliging when artist Stevan Dohanos was painting this 1950 cover. A cow aimed north by the local dairyman would stubbornly decide to go east or west. And as we can see, the white cow seems disinclined to move at all. This cover was painted in Westport, Connecticut, at the “Blue Ribbon Dairy Farm and Cow-Posing Academy.”

Spring 1977

By kind permission of Coe Kerr Gallery in 1977, we were able to reproduce this painting by Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860). It was of his brother, Ruebens (do you think the parents might have been art buffs?) and shows him here “with the first geranium brought to America in 1801.” The editors further informed us that “the Peales ran what amounted to a portrait factory where they painted Indians, patriots, still lifes, landscapes, miniatures and themselves–in great abundance.” And apparently with exquisite skill.

June 1953

Since it was a magazine for farmers, Country Gentleman covers were frequently of livestock or farm scenes. This peaceful June scene was in the heart of dairyland in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The artist was Robert Addison. As serene and picturesque as it appeared here, this was a working dairy farm of 197 acres. But wait…I found a great painting of a movie star and a cover painted by a former President…

Winter 1976

From a peaceful summer scene to a peaceful winter scene – and can you see the artist’s signature? White Church in the Country was painted by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961 “amidst the stifling one-hundred-degree heat of the Palm Desert in California.” Eisenhower loved golf, but “daubing,” as he referred to his painting, was his second-favorite hobby. A very fine portrait of Eisenhower by Norman Rockwell appeared on a Saturday Evening Post cover in 1952. And speaking of Rockwell…

Spring 1979

This 1979 cover was a repeat – it originally appeared on Country Gentleman magazine in 1922. It was the result of a contest to find the most representative “Country Gent” salesboy. The winner got to pose for Norman Rockwell! “The response was overwhelming,” editors informed us. “500,000 young entrepreneurs mailed in their photos, and one George Hamilton of Binghampton, New York, was chosen as the lucky model.” George’s mother had sent a photo of him holding four fox terriers. “Never mind that the puppies had somehow switched their breed…to beagles,” the editors noted, “for Norman Rockwell transformed the ordinary into magic.” This we all well know.

Spring 1978

What movie buff wouldn’t love this cover? The handsome cowboy, of course, is Jimmy Stewart. He was painted by artist Robert Abbett for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Stewart had great appreciation for the Hollywood Western. “It saved my career, after the war,” he is quoted as saying in this issue, “and everybody knows what it did for Gary Cooper and Duke Wayne. Naturally, I’m grateful.” And we’re grateful for such a beautiful way to remember a beloved actor.

Fall 1976

For a magazine named Country Gentleman, this must be the quintessential cover. Known as a “sporting painter,” George Stubbs (1724-1806) painted horses, dogs, hay wagons, and harvesting activities against the English countryside. This gem is called Sir John Nelthorpe Out Shooting.

Spring 1976

Seems I’m always discovering a new artist. Okay, so this “new” artist was born in 1780, but renowned primitive painter Edward Hicks was new to me. This is a portion of a stunning painting of James Cornell’s Pennsylvania farm circa 1848 on an Indian summer day. The farm won a five-dollar prize for the “best cultivated farm over 100 acres,” which the editors informed us was “five years before the Genessee Farmer and The Cultivator combined to create the first Country Gentleman magazine.” Not as old as The Saturday Evening Post, but Country Gentleman sure went back a fer piece. If you hunger to see more Country Gentleman covers, or have a question about Saturday Evening Post covers, feel free to comment and let us know.