Albert Staehle (1899-1974) painted 26 covers for the Post. Of those, 25 featured his mischievous black and white Cocker Spaniel, Butch.
In addition to his covers for the Post, Staehle also designed a poster for the 1939 New York World’s Fair and created ads for Shell Oil, Arrow Shirts, Carter Ink, and others.
Staehle also created the very first version of Smokey Bear, in 1944, for a fire prevention campaign by the U.S. Forest Service.
You can find a more detailed biography of Staehle by Sharon Damkaer at the American Art Archives.