F.R. Gruger (1871-1953) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he also attended the Pennsylvania Academy to study drawing and composition. By 20, he was working as a staff artist for a newspaper full-time. Gruger would go on to work for some of the top magazine companies of the time including Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, McClure’s, Good Housekeeping, and more. Gruger’s secret technique was writing with pencil on cardboard.

Gruger also illustrated books including Irving Stone’s Immortal Wife and Jesse Stuart’s Taps For Private Tussie. He eventually retired and began teaching at the Pratt Institute.

Gruger created four covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

Photo of F.R. Gruger from The Golden Age of American Illustration: F.R. Gruger and His Circle by Bennard Perlman, 1978.