President's Dinner and HALL of FAME Presentation Society Of
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PRESIDENT’S DINNER AND past PRESIDENTS HALL OF FAME PRESENTATION 1901 - 02 W .T. Smedley 1960 - 61 Tran Mawicke 1902 - 03 A. B. Wenzell 1961 - 63 Stevan Dohanos 1903 - 04 Arthur I. Keller 1963 - 64 John A. Moodie 1904 - 05 Charles Dana Gibson 1964 - 65 Carl Bobertz 1906 - 07 Daniel Carter Beard 1965 - 67 Barye W. Philips 1907 - 08 Albert E. Sterner 1967 - 68 David K. Stone 1909 - 20 Charles Dana Gibson 1968 - 70 Wesley McKeown 1921 - 22 Edward Penfield 1970 - 72 Walter Brooks 1922 - 26 Dean Cornwell 1972 - 74 Shannon Stirnweiss 1926 - 27 George Wright 1974 - 76 Alvin J. Pimsler 1927 - 29 C.D. Willliams 1976 - 78 Charles McVicker 1929 - 36 Wallace Morgan 1978 - 80 Warren Rogers 1936 - 38 Denys Wortman 1980 - 83 John Witt 1938 - 41 Harold Von Schmidt 1983 - 85 D.L. Cramer, PhD 1941 - 44 John Holmgren 1985 - 87 Walter Hortens 1944 - 47 Arthur William Brown 1987 - 89 Diane Dillon 1947 - 48 Albert Dorne 1989 - 91 Wendell Minor 1948 - 51 Harvey Dunn 1991 - 93 Eileen Hedy Schultz 1951 - 53 William H. Schneider 1993 - 95 Peter Fiore 1953 - 55 Robert Geissmann 1995 - 97 Vincent DiFate 1955 - 56 Howard Munce 1997 - 99 Steven H. Stroud 1956 - 57 Ervine Metzl 1999 - 01 Al Lorenz 1957 - 58 Charles Henry Carter 2001 - 04 Judy Francis 1958 - 59 Ray Prohaska 2004 - 08 Richard Berenson 1959 - 60 George Shealy 2008 Dennis Dittrich COVER ILLUstratiON MUSE AND REVERIE JOHN JUDE paleNcar SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS Essays EXCERPTED FROM ILLUSTRATORS 52 FRIDAY JUNE 25TH, 2010 ILLUSTRATORS HALL OF FAME Charles Edward Chambers Earl Oliver Hurst Orson Byron Lowell Chris Van Allsburg Wilson McLean HAMILTON KING AWARD John Jude Palencar FOUNDED 1901 ARTHUR WILLIAM BROWN RECOGNITION AWARD Richard Berenson DEAN CORNWELL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Scott Bakal Robert Zimmerman CHARLES EDWARD CHAMBERS (1883-1941) Charles Edward Chambers was a classical painter representative of the old school, his technique was impeccable, anatomy perfect, compositions compelling, and color harmonious. One could infer from his polish that he was a product of the French Academy, with years of classical training. Yet he was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1883; his training was at the Chicago Institute and in New York at the Art Students League with George Bridgeman. In fact, one of his important teachers was Fanny Munsell, who later became his wife. She was an accomplished illustrator in her own right and Chambers clearly modeled his style and technique on hers. Unfortunately, her career was cut short by her early death in 1920. Some of Chambers’ early professional illustrations were centered on a series of short stories about a clever con man known as “Get Rich Quick Wallinford,” whose antics gave Chambers opportunities to depict events of dramatic action and humor, enhancing the stories and the artist’s popularity in the process. Chambers worked under exclusive contract for Cosmopolitan for several years, and illustrated such authors as Pearl Buck and W. Somerset Maugham. It was Chambers’ use of color that was his greatest strength. He had become a regular contributor to Harper’s Monthly in the 1910s. His fiction illustration was expanded to include most of the major women’s magazines and for their covers as well, including a dramatic series of cover designs for Redbook. In the 1920s Chambers was commissioned by Steinway & Sons to paint portraits of the leading pianists of the day, including Sergei Rachmaninoff and Paderewski, which were widely reproduced. A parallel popular series of paintings was commissioned by Chesterfield (cigarettes) for billboard advertising among which was cited “one of the most beautiful posters ever painted,” as reported by the trade publication Advertising Outdoors in 1931. Another outstanding poster was his painting for the Red Cross in 1933, posed for by Pauline True, his most frequent model and subsequent wife. Among Chambers’ numerous awards was the second Altman Prize at the National Academy of Design exhibition in 1931 for his portrait of watercolorist and fellow-illustrator John Alonzo Williams. One of the best analysts of Chambers’ working methods was the art editor John D. Whiting, whose book, Practical Illustration: A Guide for Artists, in 1920, outlined the artist’s process: “Probably no living American better typifies the successful illustrator than Charles E. Chambers. How does he do it? The student will find in Chambers’ illustrations a good working model of practical illustrative technique. If you have access to any of these paintings, do by all means study them well. If this is impossible you can at least study the prints through a magnifying glass. You will find that there is nothing extraordinary or abnormal about the workmanship. They are remarkable rather for the absence of any particular mannerism, and this is one secret of their successful reproduction.” While preoccupied with technique and the tastes of the 1920s and 1930s, Whiting’s DISCUSSION OVER TEA Oil ON caNvas comments are still pertinent to a realistic illustrator. Chambers’ originals do stand the test of time and have much to be admired and to inspire a contemporary painter and illustrator. Walt Reed - IllUstratiON HOUse EARL OLIVER HURST (1895-1958) Earl Oliver Hurst was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1895. After a stint in World War I, he took night classes at the Cleveland School of Art while working days at The Plain Dealer, where he drew political cartoons and fashion illustrations. From there he took a job as art director at a direct mail house. While in this position he discovered his covers for booklets were being pirated and used on national magazines. Hurst saw this as patently unfair and on leaving the studio job, set out to make himself visible in broader markets. He reasoned that if he had time to experiment, he could put himself into a nationally prominent position, so he explored his skills in seclusion. But without the discipline of client-imposed deadlines, Hurst’s work began to suffer—as did his finances— so he came out of exile. But the artist was unsure of how to pick up where he had left off in his career. He went to his friend, art director Chester Siebold of General Electric, for advice. Siebold encouraged him to take his efforts to a higher level. He said, “I want you to promise me that in the future you will not make one drawing for each assignment, but three or four, then deliver the best one of the lot.” The artist was aghast, but agreed to try it. Following Siebold’s advice, Hurst executed five fully realized drawings for one job. Years later he recalled, “As I examined those five drawings, standing against my studio wall, I was really shocked to think that according to former procedure I would have delivered the first one, truly a fumbling performance compared with the subsequent drawings.” By the late 1930s, Hurst had arrived, with two one-man shows at the Society of Illustrators, one in 1939 and one in 1940. He and his family divided their time between Manhattan and Douglaston, Queens. In the summer they would sail to Maine for relaxation. As his illustration style became more sought after, his efforts continued to improve because he found the busier he got, the more productive he became. In a 1942 American Artist magazine profile that was later published in the book Forty Illustrators and How They Work, Ernest Watson wrote, “Hurst says he works best under such pressure, but without efficient organization he could not satisfy his clients.” From the early 1940s through the end of his career he employed an assistant to lessen the tiresome elements of his work. The illustrator combined his talents into a highly successful career. Among the many magazines for which Hurst did regular commission work were Collier’s, American, Pictorial Review, McCall’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, and True. His advertising clients included Nabisco, Royal Crown Cola, General Electric, Sanka, Jantzen Swimsuits, and Swan Soap. Beyond the good design apparent in Hurst’s work there lies an outlook on life and a sense of humor that is the fuel for the creative engine. The profile in Forty Illustrators and How they Work defines the artist’s whimsical nature this way: “Hurst’s humor is that of character. It springs from a deep understanding of human nature and a feeling of sympathy—albeit mirthful—for those who find themselves victims of predicaments…. Some of his biggest laughs have been at his own expense.” BLONDE ON THE SLOPES watercOLOR ILLUstratiON FOR KING featURES Frederic B. Taraba - Taraba IllUstratiON Art ORSON BYRON LOWELL (1871-1956) Orson Lowell was born in Wyoming, Iowa, in 1871. The artist’s father, a landscape painter, encouraged, even pushed him to draw. In 1882, the family moved to Chicago, where Lowell attended public school until 1887, when he began taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, studying with J.H. Vanderpoel and Oliver Dennett Grover. While still in school, he taught elementary classes and also created pictures for local magazines including The Spark and American Commercial Traveler. In November of 1893, Lowell moved to New York City to build his career and reputation in earnest. As the commissions from art directors began rolling in, it was apparent that his style was unique. According to an article in the June 1896 issue of The Book Buyer magazine, “Mr. Lowell has the rarest quality of an illustrator. He is original; he has a way of his own to look at things and a manner thoroughly his own to render what he sees. His scenes, his types, and his imaginative work, are all singularly vivid and graphic.” By 1905 Lowell’s work was in high enough demand to allow him to buy a house in New Rochelle while maintaining his studio in New York.