Spring 1977

by Rembrandt Peale
The Country Gentleman
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

by Robert Addison
The Country Gentleman
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

White Church in the Country
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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

by Norman Rockwell
The Country Gentleman
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

by Robert Abbett
The Country Gentleman
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

by George Stubbs
The Country Gentleman
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

by Edward Hicks
The Country Gentleman
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.

Classic Art: Forgotten Country Gentleman Covers The Saturday Evening Post

Flat and Chat – May 21, 1949

Flat and Chat
George_Hughes
May 21, 1949

The irritated tire-changer? Why, that’s artist George Hughes himself. The editors mused that he served as his own model because he was tired of waiting for Rockwell to insert him into a Post cover. Several Post cover artists lived near each other in Arlington, Vermont, and they used each other (and their families) as subjects. Rockwell had used fellow artists Atherton, Schaeffer and even himself as Post cover boys. Well, if you want something done, you’d better do it yourself.

Missed Exit – June 15, 1957

Missed Exit
George Hughes
June 15, 1957

“High-speed pikes are wonderful inventions,” Post editors noted in 1957, “except for a few bugs that need to be ironed out, such as exit signs moving by too fast.” What do you do in this situation? One can imagine the conversation inside the blue convertible. We’d rather not.

Fork in the Road – July 7, 1956

Fork in the Road
George Hughes
July 7, 1956

Yogi Berra says, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” That advice isn’t helping the couple in this 1956 cover. He says “that way,” but no, she insists, “this way.” The editors suggested perhaps they should flip a coin. Or perhaps he should just let the wife navigate because “nobody can think clearly under a cap like that.” Editors are such wise guys.

Ticket for Roadster – April 27, 1957

Ticket for Roadster
George Hughes
April 27, 1957

If you drive a snappy Roadster, be careful with your speed. And if worse should come to worse and you do get pulled over, be sure it isn’t where there’s a group of snarky kids hanging out. Rough trip – not only costing in monetary terms, but in terms of mental anguish.

Gas Money – March 26, 1960

Gas Money
George Hughes
March 26, 1960

These boys had a bit of a problem. “Big Ron” gassed up the jalopy and is finding himself in the embarrassing position of being short on funds. His buddies are not coming up with the dough either and Lou (it says “Lou” on the attendant’s shirt) wants his $4.07 and he wants it now. Looks like Big Ron will have to call his dad, Bigger Ron, and hope for the best.

Out of Gas – September 2, 1961

Out of Gas
George Hughes
September 2, 1961

Is there a worse scenario? Leave it to artist Hughes to find it. “The setting of this depressing encounter is not fifty miles from nowhere,” the editors noted. “This is nowhere.” A mile or two in either direction will take you to a car that’s out of gas. The unanswered question, of course, is how the heck did they get out of this one? One can only hope Big Ron got his gas money and happens by.

Don’t miss the featured summer road trips in the Jul/Aug 2010 issue of the Post. Subscribe here.

Classic Covers: A Road Trip with George Hughes The Saturday Evening Post

View the gallery.

Classic Covers: March Winds The Saturday Evening Post

So far, our gallery visits have tended to be quick. My young art lad breezes past the modern stuff, the abstract works. He’ll linger a little on Impressionist paintings and Renaissance art. But in fact, the only time I’ve ever seen him stop dead and stare at a piece of art was in the halls of our offices here, which are liberally decorated with prints of classic Post covers.

The one that caught his eye is called The Shiner. It features a girl sporting a black eye, a bandaged knee, and rumpled clothes from a schoolyard fight, but she still looks fresh and pleased with herself nonetheless. My son studied the girl’s face intently—I think it’s fair to say he developed a little crush on her. Then he looked at all the other details—the girl’s loose hair ribbon, her unlaced shoes, the various items on the wall above her, the expressions of the grownups just inside the door. Finally, his eyes settled on the artist’s signature, one that’s only too familiar to Post readers and generations of Americans.

“Who’s this Norman Rockwell?” Thomas finally asked. “He’s pretty good!”

It’s always exciting (and a little funny) to witness a new generation in the act of discovering something that you’ve known all your life was wonderful. And as we prepared this issue’s cover story (page 30), which celebrates the Post’s most celebrated artist, my son’s awed appraisal stuck with me. I found myself absorbed in illustrations I’d seen a thousand times, viewing them with fresh eyes, seeing details I’d never noticed before, and coming away with new admiration for the artist and his work.

We hope you have the same reaction, and that you share this issue with someone who’s perhaps not as familiar with the man we call “America’s artist.” But once they have a look, I’m confident they’ll agree: That Norman Rockwell, he is pretty good.

Stephen C. George

Editor-in-Chief, The Saturday Evening Post

s.george@saturdayeveningpost.com

Fresh Eyes The Saturday Evening Post

N. C. Wyeth

Cowboy in Setting Sun
November 30, 1997
N. C. Wyeth

The father of painter Andrew Wyeth and grandfather of present-day artist Jamie Wyeth, Newell Convers Wyeth was a student of Howard Pyle and the Brandywine School of art. Wyeth’s first professional work was a commissioned illustration for the Post. His sense of color and mood was particularly suited to Western subjects, which also appealed to Lorimer. So the Post sent Wyeth to gain firsthand knowledge of his subject. On trips to the western United States, he worked as a ranch hand in Colorado and rode mail routes in New Mexico and Arizona.

Charles Livingston Bull

Fox and Goose
Charles Livingston Bull
September 9, 1905

Known chiefly as an animal illustrator, Bull literally drew from his experience as a taxidermist at the National Museum in Washington, D.C. Bull’s images, whether an eagle soaring in flight or a fox on the prowl, gave a majestic, even startling, life and grace to his wild subjects.

Angus MacDonall

St. Bernard for SaleAngus MacDonall
October 8, 1921

MacDonall, who came from the Midwest but eventually migrated east to become part of the Westport, Connecticut art colony, did only a few covers for the Post, but they were memorable, especially his poignant depictions of children. The forlorn boy and his dog were real, seen by a reader in Oregon, who described the scene vividly in a letter to the editor.

Ellen Pyle

Ice Cream Cone
Ellen Pyle
August 12, 1922

Like N.C. Wyeth, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle was a student of Howard Pyle’s Brandywine School, later marrying Howard’s brother Walter. When they started a family, Pyle set painting aside, but after Walter’s death in 1919, as a widow with four children, Pyle resumed her career to make ends meet. She struggled at first, but then her sister-in-law took three of Pyle’s paintings to the Post—and Lorimer promptly bought two of them, in addition to the girl with the ice cream cone, which became a cover in 1922 (after Lorimer insisted that the dog, originally shown drooling, be retouched). Pyle painted 40 Post covers in all, often using her children as models. The girls sipping sodas here are Pyle’s daughters.

J. C. Leyendecker

Carnival
J. C. Leyendecker
February 25, 1933

Joseph Christian Leyendecker received his first commission to paint a Post cover the same year George Horace Lorimer began running them, in 1899. Before Norman Rockwell arrived, no other artist had been so closely identified with the Post. Leyendecker famously created the iconic New Year’s Baby and the pudgy red-garbed rendition of Santa Claus, among other enduring images. Rockwell himself idolized the artist, calling him “a superb draftsman and a fine colorist,” as evidenced here. Leyendecker had an eye for the humor in everyday life, too (as in the case of the ample bathing beauty and her water wings, witnessed by a Post editor, who later described her to Leyendecker), which always delighted readers.

For more cover art, visit saturdayeveningpostcovers.com.

The Art of the Post The Saturday Evening Post

Covers from both world wars often depicted heartbreaking scenes of kissing a lover goodbye, but there was a twist to artist John Newton Howitt’s October 19, 1940, cover. The sailor is just about to kiss the pretty girl in his arms, when oops! Her purse opens, and  a loving photo of a soldier springs into view. Perhaps she has a military beau in every port? Or maybe it’s her brother … yeah, that’s it.

Soldier or Sailorby John Newton HowittOctober 19, 1940

Not everyone approved of this kissing stuff. Robert Robinson was a cover artist in the early 1900s who was gifted at painting what we gently refer to as “old geezers.” This particular old salt sees the shadows of a kissing couple, one of whom is probably his little girl. The young man might want to hurry his “good night” along.

We not only approve, we simply cannot resist this 1938 Post cover by Frances Tipton Hunter. The little girl (who bears a resemblance to Shirley Temple) decides the best way to celebrate her friend’s birthday is with a smooch. We can’t quite tell if the birthday boy likes or dislikes the “gift,” but the boy witnessing the scene is sure getting a kick out of it.

We end with a unique winter scene from 1962 by an artist named James Williamson. An industrious wife is clearing the driveway of snow, and hubby shows his appreciation as he leaves for the office. If you look carefully, you’ll discover a witness to this lip action as well. A tiny squirrel perched atop the snowy fence by the mailbox is wondering what the heck these humans are up to now.

Gallery

Classic Covers: A Kiss is Just a Kiss The Saturday Evening Post

Take a look at Lands of Enchantment from 1923: A lad is reading a thick book with intense concentration, and no wonder—the stories of medieval knights is exciting stuff. Young Eddie, in his imagination (which Rockwell generously supplies in the background), becomes Sir Edward, saving the damsel from … well, whatever dreadful fate he was saving her from.

Today, would Eddie be playing in a video arcade? While the young boy concentrates on the game, maybe Rockwell’s background would show hero Eddie, his knight’s armor replaced by a self-contained, pressurized spacesuit, blasting intergalactic bullies with his Super Laser while racking up an impressive score.

Serenade by Norman Rockwell. September 22, 1928.

How about the boy serenading the girl from 1928? This is a no-brainer to 2009 Rockwell. On the new cover, the boy would be having his female friend listen to a cool tune on his iPod. It may not seem as romantic, but when you’re 14, this is hot stuff.

And finally, one of our favorite Rockwell covers: The Gossips from 1948. Mabel tells Sue something, Sue tells Jane, who tells George, and so on, and so on. By the time the gossip gets back to Mabel (via Rockwell himself, in the painting), she had a completely different piece of gossip to be shocked over.

The Gossips by Norman Rockwell. March 6, 1948.

Fast forward to 2009: Mabel e-mails Sue about one of the neighbors. “Honestly, that Herman was going out to his mailbox in his robe, which he never bothered to close. Well, he never did have any class.” Sue whips out her cell phone and texts this juicy tidbit to Jane, who Twitters George, and by the time 2009 Rockwell tells the same story back to Mabel, when he ran into her at Starbucks, she is appalled to hear that her neighbor Jim disrobed in the supermarket! An ironic twist (that she will later post on her Facebook page) on the efficiency of technology that Rockwell would have loved. And somehow, we think 2009 Rockwell would have pulled it off.

You Asked: What Would Rockwell Do? The Saturday Evening Post

Another terrific face appears on the November 1933 Country Gentleman cover by artist Henry Hintermeister. While the kid may be small, his concentration is intense. The dog, however, is just concentrating on the water bucket. We all have our priorities.

You Can Be the Water Boy
Frances Tipton Hunter
November 27, 1937

How do you become suddenly popular when you’re the smallest kid in the neighborhood? Get a brand-new football for your birthday. Artist Frances Tipton Hunter painted the cutest kids, and the November 27, 1937, cover is a picture-perfect example. The adorable tyke shifts attention away from the bigger kids, who, apparently, would like to get a game going. It appears that negotiations involve offering him the exalted position of water boy in exchange for use of the ball. Is this the same boy concentrating so intently on the game on the 1933 Country Gentleman cover mentioned earlier? Hmmm.

When did the first football cover appear on The Saturday Evening Post? Would you believe October 27, 1900? This painting of what appears to be a rousing game came from an artist who rarely scored a coveted Saturday Evening Post cover. His name remains “Unknown.”

It’s crunch time for the boys in artist Frederic Stanley’s November 1926 cover. Unfortunately, what is being crunched appears to be the boy on the bottom. Did we mention this can be a rough sport? Need further evidence? See Norman Rockwell’s November 1925 cover. Ouch! Right in the breadbasket.

Let the games begin! But may all your football memories be less painful!

Classic Covers: Are You Ready for Some Football? The Saturday Evening Post

Dating Rule No. 1: If trying to impress a girl with your fancy convertible, be sure a downpour isn’t in the works. In Albert W. Hampson’s 1936 cover, the young lady is clearly not impressed—whatever the make or model—when the rain comes. The expression on the young man’s face clearly says, “I have so blown it.” Well, at least she wasn’t wearing a lovely hat to ruin, such as the pretty lady in Douglass Crockwell’s April 8, 1939, cover. But she’s a clever lass—she’s pulling down the handy Post cover for protection!

Amos Sewell
Boy Walking Under Mother's Raincoat
April 24, 1954

Also showing good ol’ American ingenuity is the young boy on Amos Sewell’s April 24, 1954, cover. Since mom’s raincoat is clear plastic, he figured out a way to walk in the rain, see where he’s going, and keep himself quite dry—well, at least the top half.

Downpours help us discover speed we didn’t know we had. In the 1950s, you not only worried about getting the top up on your convertible when a Midwest storm blew in, you had to scurry to get the laundry off the line. Artist John Falter remembered the “hair-curling lightning and thunder” in that part of the country from his boyhood, and his April 26, 1952, cover shows that Mother Nature clearly plans to take no prisoners. Also dodging raindrops are three charming ladies on John LaGatta’s colorful April 2, 1932, cover.

Rainy Barbeque
Constantin Alajalov
July 2, 1955

Let’s visit the local drive-in. Or is it the local float-in? On John Falter’s May 13, 1961, cover, our real-life hero protects burgers and shakes from the pouring rain as he scurries through the puddles to nourish his hungry troops. Rain or shine, the show must go on! Much more difficult than negotiating puddles to feed the family is cooking food in the rain, as seen in Constantin Alajalov’s July 1951 cover. You would think one of the slackers on the porch would at least hold the umbrella for the poor cook.

John LaGotta
Ladies Running From Rain
April 2, 1932

Sarah Stilwell-Weber, who delighted Post readers in the early 1900s with her beautiful paintings of children, shows a girl walking in the rain, balancing schoolbooks and an umbrella on the October 9, 1909, cover. Having less luck with his umbrella is the gentleman in Robert Robinson’s March 18, 1911, cover. Holding on to your hat and an inside-out umbrella at the same time takes dexterity.

Another trio of beautifully dressed LaGatta ladies are getting splashed by a passing car in the May 20, 1939, cover. But leave it to a Post cover artist to find irony, as in one of our favorite rainy-day covers from October 2, 1948. Three pedestrians are being splashed by a passing truck. But not just any truck, dear friends, a delivery vehicle for the local dry cleaners.

On the bright side, our cover research found someone happy about the storms! Stevan Dohanos’ April 1946 cover shows gentlemen from the New York weather bureau delightedly noting the lightning storm outside. While there’s no fun getting wet, there’s a certain pleasure in getting it right!

Gallery

Classic Covers: Rain, Rain, Go Away! The Saturday Evening Post

Definitely the odd couple. Mr. Felix is fastidious to the point where we believe the blades of grass salute as he walks by. Note how even the flowers stand at attention. But he isn’t all uptight: He is, after all, keeping up with the baseball game on his handy black and white TV while working. But in the July, 1961 cover by artist John Falter, Mr. Oscar next door is taking it easy, not at all bothered by overgrown hedges and toys on the sidewalk. Well, he probably had a hard week at work. Obviously, his dog did, too.

Thorton Utz
I'd Rather Be Golfing
May 20, 1961

On the other side of town, two equally fastidious neighbors are flummoxed—yes, that’s the word, flummoxed. In the May 20, 1961, cover by Thornton Utz, the lawn slaves work with push mowers and rakes while the guy from number 319 spends his Saturday as he darn well pleases, which includes lighting up a big cigar and taking his golf clubs for a walk, with nary a backward glance at his overgrown lawn.

Thorton Utz
Painting the Padio Green
May 2, 1953

There’s more than one way to green up a lawn. In Utz’s May 2, 1953, cover, one man simply laid concrete and painted it green—and flummoxed neighbors appear once again. As the 1953 Post editors observed, “What sound-minded man would rest in a hammock when he can sprain his muscles spading the sweet earth?” Sound-minded or not, we have to give the guy points for ingenuity.

It isn’t only private lawns that need tending. Stevan Dohanos’ 1945 lighthouse, bold in red and white stripes, includes a busy groundskeeper neatly trimming the weeds, with no help whatsoever from the lazy pooch nearby.

Stevan Dohanos
Lighthouse Keeper
9/22/1945

Fond of finding gardens in unusual spots, Dohanos also painted the August 9, 1947, cover depicting three railroad workers watering a flower bed with the train looming right behind them—a cover to please both gardeners and train buffs alike.

Possibly the oddest spot for a garden was found by artist John Atherton. In a junkyard in Pittsburgh, no less, amid heaps of rusty scrap iron, the derrick operator planted a small garden. The enterprising man even made a fence around his plot using strips of scrap iron. “Gardens are a form of autobiography,” said Sydney Eddison, highly acclaimed gardening author and teacher, so it says much about the man that he seeks beauty amid the unsightly.

John Falter
City Park
June 5, 1954

In Falter’s June 5, 1954, cover, as a man tends a downtown plot of flowers, his territory seems to be invaded by a spaceman after his baseball. Okay, some covers are just hard to explain—you’ll have to click on it and see for yourself. The older couple in Stevan Dohanos’ May 26, 1951, cover do the watering. Well, at least he is, and we must say that’s a lot of garden to water with a hose. When Post editors asked Dohanos, “What ate some of the lettuce and radishes in your picture—rabbits?” the artist replied, “Certainly not. People. No pests in my gardens. They don’t like the smell of paint.” Well, we warned you that artists are an odd lot.

Gallery

Classic Covers: Keeping Up with Yard Work The Saturday Evening Post

“Germantown, Philadelphia, was my birthplace, and my dream of life was to be able, someday, to be an artist,” wrote Ellen Pyle in the April 7, 1928, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Become an artist she did.

The August 6, 1927, cover is one of the sweetest, showing a rosy-cheeked toddler holding a seashell to her ear, enchanted with the sound. Pyle catches that enchanting childhood wonderment again for the February 22, 1930, cover showing grandma and youngster listening to the radio. Oh, we can’t help it—look at that face!

“The absorbing task of raising four children put artwork in the background for a time. There has been a great deal of discussion as to whether a woman can keep on with her work and be a competent mother,” wrote Pyle. We wonder if she would be surprised that this issue remains tricky more than 80 years later! Using her own children, their friends, and neighbors as models, she captured youngsters doing ordinary kid things: tackling a hornets’ nest in the backyard, cuddling an irresistible lapful of baby chicks, enjoying a snack while doggie beggars look on.

We were delighted when, in 2007, we reran the 1934 cover of girls selling flowers (“5 cents a ‘Bunsh,’ ” the sign read) and received a letter from a reader who let us know what memories it brought back. “The older girl is my mother, and the younger is my aunt,” wrote Sara Chatzidakis. It helped that the girls’ neighbor was Ellen Pyle.

Pyle also had a fondness for illustrating young women in action. “The girl I am most interested in painting is the unaffected natural American type, the girl that likes to coast and skate in winter, who often goes without her hat, and who gets a thrill out of tramping over country roads in the fall,” she noted. The pretty archery aficionado of the October 8, 1927, cover and hockey player of the January 22, 1927, cover are prime examples. No knitting needles for these gals.

Of course, Pyle also depicted grown-ups doing ordinary things: Grandma and grandson waiting at the bus stop on a chilly day with their groceries and the spiffy couple dressed up for a fancy evening only to discover a flat tire … in the rain. But we promised you flappers. Also “going without their hats” are the fetching young ladies with the bobbed hair and headbands of the Roaring Twenties: January 21, 1922, and February 4, 1922.

The artist lived to see two of her children attend art school and achieve success in their own right. She noted, “I criticized their work, and they often pose for me, and at times it seems as if everyone in the house was either painting or being painted.”

The first career retrospective of Ellen Pyle’s art will be on display from August 1, 2009, to January 2, 2010, at the Delaware Art Museum. The exhibit features 45 paintings in addition to photographs, magazines, and personal memorabilia.

Classic Covers: Ellen Pyle The Saturday Evening Post

The energy Bower brought to his art began at an early age when he attended the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia. Magazine work quickly followed, and his art was published while he was still a student there. Later he became a medical illustrator in the U.S. Army during World War I.

It was only five years ago that an acquaintance, Jane Garrabrant, kindly sent us some biographical information on her substitute grandfather, “Morry,” as she called him, noting that he moved to Paris around 1926, although he still worked for Curtis Publishing. He periodically returned to the United States to fulfill illustration obligations for the Post while living a glorious life on the Left Bank of Paris with many artistic types, from choreographers to writers to artists like himself. Sadly, this charmed lifestyle ended with the stock market crash of 1929.

It became difficult for Bowers to find work at a time when photography was outpacing the demand for illustrators, and jobs turned to the not-as-lucrative world of portrait painting and illustrations for minor publications.

Garrabrant’s notes also detail the caring relationship he and his sister shared. Bower moved back to Collingswood, New Jersey in the early 1960s, and at age 87 he decided to buy a new lawn mower because he didn’t care for the way the neighborhood boys were cutting the grass. But he wasn’t strong enough to pull the cord. His sister, Trudi, “a youngster” at 75, would start the mower, and Morry would cut a little bit of grass each day, stretching it out so he would have something to do the next day. Maurice Lincoln Bower died at the age of 91 on October 4, 1980, one month to the day after the death of his beloved sister, Trudi.

Maurice Bower "Speeding Stagecoach" 1937

Maurice Bower "Harness Race" 1935

Maurice Bower "Racing to the Fire" 1935

Maurice Bower "Circus Bareback Riders" 1935

Maurice Bower "Polo Match" 1934

Maurice Bower "Thoroughbred Race" 1934

Classic Covers: Maurice Bower’s Horse Power The Saturday Evening Post

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

Classic Covers: Anton Otto Fischer The Saturday Evening Post

Thanks for bringing me spring a little early!

Nancy

Taylor, Michigan

Spring Fresh The Saturday Evening Post

Work! Some people claim to love it. Others vow they hate it. Some are notably better acquainted with it than others, but we won’t name names.

“What work I have done, I have done because it has been play. If it had been work, I shouldn’t have done it,” Mark Twain said.

Thomas Edison observed, “As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey.”

The British humorist, Jerome K. Jerome, summed up many peoples’ view on the subject: “I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”

Which brings us to our famous cover artists. From a place of relative safety behind their easels, unfettered by nine-to-five jobs and the usual drudgery (except when their wives pulled them away to put up storm windows), they were free to sit back and observe the American “workscape” in all its glory, from window washers and sign painters to plumbers and construction workers.

They even turned a lady riveter into the most famous cover girl of all.

In keeping with the theme of this issue, we put our own shoulders to the task and created this tribute to the art of work. Now we’re going to take a break while you sit back and enjoy it.

The laurel wreaths in the corners tell the story. It was the working man who deserved the credit for making America great, as artist Joseph J. Gould made clear in his turn-of-the-century Post cover.

Rockwell knew Post readers would empathize with this pair of plumbers rather than with the uppity owner of the fancy boudoir. He hired two actual plumbers as models and asked them to bring their tools along.

How praise worthy is this lad who thinks first and last of his work, and only wants to make sure that all work and no play does not make Jack a dull boy? When called to comment on this painting, artist Dohanos wasn't home.

Artist Ski Weld captured the drama of real work in America in his 1930s and 40s Post cover paintings. Here he depicts the smoke and grit of a strip mine-somehow transforming it all into a work of beauty.

This isn't a self-portrait, but we are pretty sure artist Stevan Dohanos could identify with this fellow painter. Some jobs just seem designed to lull a guy to sleep, and all those subliminal messages don't help either.

Who, including der Fuehrer himself, would dare to mess with Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter? Rockwell's model was 19-year-old Arlington, Vermont, telephone operator Mary Doyle. The artist later apologized to Mary for adding substantial weight to her slender figure.

Work can sometimes have its perks, as Norman Rockwell's "fresh" young window washer is well aware. We have to give the daring fellow credit, suspended as he is 10 stories up. Meanwhile, Miss Shapely may have missed a few lines of dictation, but her boss, J.J. Fuddy of Fuddy & Duddly, hasn't even noticed.

The Art of Work The Saturday Evening Post