“Cowboy and Setting Sun” by N.C. Wyeth

Great American artist N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) was a realist, as this 1907 cover shows. His first commission was to paint a cover for The Saturday Evening Post in 1903, a heady success for the tender age of twenty-one. The Post then commissioned him to illustrate a Western story, and Howard Pyle, under whom he studied, encouraged his venture West to study the real thing. Already very much the outdoorsman, Wyeth worked as a cowboy and ranch hand, obtaining much more than a fancy art school education.

“Gary Cooper as the Texan” by Norman Rockwell

Twenty-five years or so later, an artist named Rockwell made his own trip out west, to a land called Hollywood. The artist thought it would be ironic to show a big, strapping “cowboy” getting his face made up. Hollywood was excited to have one of its stars appear on a Saturday Evening Post cover by the likes of Norman Rockwell, and the illustrator could have his pick. He selected a winner in handsome Gary Cooper. “He posed for me in Hollywood for three days and worked as conscientiously as any model I ever had,” Rockwell wrote. “Everyone at the set was crazy about him and I could see why.”

“Playing Cowboy” by Amos Sewell

From 1951, this youngster on the bucking two-wheeled bronco is determined to lasso that ornery, good-for-nothing fence post. Artist Amos Sewell did 45 Post covers from 1949-1962, mostly of kids being kids.

“Woman on Horse in Mountains” by W.H.D. Koerner

We’ll call this 1928 cover “Romance of the Cowgirl.” W.H.D. Koerner (1878-1938) was one of the great artists of the American West. Although he lived on the east coast, he made many trips to scenic Western sites like Yellowstone and the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. He illustrated many stories of Western fiction that appeared in the Post and Country Gentleman magazines.

“Tom Mix” by Rolf Armstrong

For most of us, Tom Mix (1880-1940) was before our time, but he set the standard for movie and TV cowboys to come. Starring in over 300 movies (mostly silent films), he is described as our “first Western megastar.” The films were more showmanship than authentic, but Americans became hooked on the romance of the West.

“Herding Horses” by John Clymer

“How nice it is to be a Western horse and seldom come to a fence or the inside of a barn door,” reflected Post editors of this 1952 Wyoming scene. With the help of his pigtailed daughter behind him, this rancher moves a herd of horses across the river. The dog is assisting as well, even though we can only see his head barely above the water. Artist John Clymer (1907-1989) turned many American landscapes into beautiful Post covers.

“Cowboy Asleep in Beauty Salon” by Kurt Ard

Well, partner, this cowboy’s had a long day ropin’, shootin’ and riding the range. By the time he got to this here fixin’-up place, he was plumb tuckered out. This adorable 1961 cowboy is by artist Kurt Ard.

For more Western art, see “Native American Covers.”

“Dog in Church”

The viewer hopes grandma doesn’t find out what is so amusing the boy in this 1915 cover. A native of Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher had excellent credentials: study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts while still a teenager, then a traveling scholarship to the Ecole de Grande Chaumiere in Paris. Returning to the United States, he studied under renowned illustrator, Howard Pyle.

“Bridling the Horse”

One wonders if the grandma above would approve of this independent lady, also from 1915. Notice the banner she is wearing—she is a suffragette getting ready for a meeting. World War I interrupted the life of the artist who served in France and sadly, was seriously affected by poison gas. He returned to Wilmington, married, and moved to Long Island.

“Grandfather & Child with Horse”

Boys and horses were a common theme in Thrasher’s art (we’ll see a lovely example below), but for something sweet and different, how about this grandfather and child with a gentle friend? As much as horses appeared in his work, he did a delightful job painting people, young and old.

“Conference on the Mound”

“Conference on the Mound” was the first cover Thrasher ever sold—for a whopping $50 in 1912. Little more than a decade later, by 1924, he signed for a series of covers for Liberty magazine, for which he was paid a handsome $1,000 each (that would be over $13,000 today—a tidy weekly salary). Happily, he was still doing covers for the Post, and despite his fine arts background, his commercial success was impressive, with ads for Chesterfield cigarettes and Cream of Wheat among his prodigious output.

“Boy Watering Horses”

This is a beautiful example of Thrasher’s work from 1924 for the Post. One wonders how he could do a cover a week for Liberty magazine for years, a lofty task, and do a goodly number of other works as well. In this painting, it is a bitter January day, and this young man has to break the ice to get water for the horses. Notice Thrasher’s covers show little or no background details, unlike artists like Rockwell with his painstaking details of wallpaper or room decorations.

“Tipping the Scales”

“Tipping the Scales” is a popular Thrasher painting from 1936. The Post used it as a cookbook cover in 1975, and we have heard many people argue that it must be a Rockwell, perhaps because of the humor involved. And perhaps because many folks believe that Norman Rockwell did every weekly Post cover from 1916-1962, a physical impossibility, of course. Ironically, this amusing painting is from a tragic year for the artist. A fire at his home in December not only destroyed much of Thrasher’s work, but led to severe smoke inhalation and ultimately fatal pneumonia.

“Two Men in Deck Chairs”

Published shortly after his death, this painting again shows the artist’s delightful sense of humor. As if being seasick wasn’t enough, the smoke from his companion’s pipe is making matters worse. Perhaps he is too queasy to get up and move? Thrasher did as many as three hundred sixty magazine covers. (Rockwell’s Post covers added up to about 322, although he, too, did thousands of other paintings.) Had Thrasher lived longer, one wonders if his reputation would have rivaled the likes of Rockwell.

Woman With Basketball by Carol Aus

Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing basketball in 1891, and apparently it didn’t take long for the ladies to try their hand at the sport. A Norwegian artist named Carol Aus (1868-1934), about whom little is known, painted this young player for a 1909 Post cover.

Woman Playing Tennis by George Brehm

We have plenty of cover art showing a pretty lady posing with a tennis racket or other sports equipment, but an action shot like this tennis player makes a person wonder how the artist did it. A person might also wonder how the lady was so active in a long skirt. This is from 1907.

Lady Fishing by Harrison Fisher

We have dozens of covers depicting the art of fishing, the first of which was Grover Cleveland fishing in 1901. The second, in 1902, was of a lady reeling one in! Harrison Fisher was a big name in Post covers, doing nearly 80 between 1900 and 1915.

The Finals and Alice Gray by Pete Fountain

We have numerous depictions of the great game of golf, also. This is one of the earliest, from 1903. Maybe they couldn’t vote, but women could certainly golf…and fish, hunt, play tennis, basketball and baseball.

Woman Archer by J.J. Gould

This is another action painting. Early Post artist J.J. Gould went for verisimilitude in this one from 1907. The lady looks like she knows what she’s doing.

Woman on Horseback by Philip R. Goodwin

Hundreds of covers depict a lady reading, holding flowers or a fan, or simply looking lovely in a beautiful gown. This 1906 cover shows many of the fair sex were made of sterner stuff.

Coachman and Horse by J.F. Kernan

If you think I’ve been looking for an excuse to show off this beautiful cover, you’re absolutely right. The coachman and horse is one of my favorites (of course, my favorites change from week to week). Between the Post and sister publication, Country Gentleman, artist J.F. Kernan did over fifty covers.

Billboard Painters by Penrhyn Stanlaws

There are several covers depicting billboard painters, and I’d forgotten about this one. It was by artist Penrhyn Stanlaws whose covers of elegant ladies, often in interesting hats, graced the Post many times. This particular lady just happens to be several times life size.

Partygoers by Norman Rockwell

The milkman started at the crack of dawn, so if you met him on your way home, you were a bona fide party animal. Note the hard-working deliverer of our morning milk is still carrying his flashlight. Rockwell depicted him as a fatherly type, admonishing the young couple for their unseemly hours.

Blacksmith by L.L. Emmert

Since the Country Gentleman magazine folded in the 1970’s, a lot of cover art is all but forgotten. Today we’re remembering the blacksmith at his labors in 1917. What’s a horse to do these days – go to a shoe store?

Fill ‘er Up by McCauley Conner

I suppose remembering the days when someone pumped your gas makes you officially old, but it’s another job that’s gone by the wayside. I never thought the reason might be gas station attendants like this one, who got distracted by pretty ladies. This could get costly these days!

Soda Jerk by Norman Rockwell

Yes, there were perks to being soda jerks – like girls. Norman Rockwell got the idea for this cover by listening to his youngest son talk about his experience behind the soda fountain. And, yes, Peter Rockwell was the model, although he wasn’t all that pleased with the resulting painting. “I’m not that goofy-looking,” he said. Well, dad had to give the guy some “character”. See if you can dream up any other extinct professions.