John Philip Falter
Summer by the Sea, Saturday Evening Post Cover, 1956
1956

About the Item

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Saturday Evening Post Cover, July 21, 1956 This Falter cover was owned by Sarah Johansen, daughter of John Falter. She is the young girl to the right with the conch shell to her ear. On the left, is a little boy who was a neighbor friend of hers growing up in Bucks County. They used to ride tricycles together. He's wearing a spacecraft shield and laser; the shield reads "Satellite Skiff". In addition, she has 4 photographs that Falter took of Sarah posing for the painting; he's written on the photos: "C'mon Sarah" and "See". Sarah indicated this was done in the height of his career, July 21, 1956, and is an excellent example of his work. On the floor by the chair, is a newspaper with the peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz. According to Sarah, John Falter said he got a fan letter from Charlie Schulz thanking him for putting his peanuts comic strip in the painting. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of this letter is unknown. The Post described, “Space-flight gear, a conch shell; in new and old ways youngsters savor the glamour of imaginative play. That lad is not long for this world; soon he’ll dream himself away on a junket to the moon. Behind him on earth the lass will listen to seashore breakers that always roar inside conch shells, thanks to whoever put them in there. Doubtless she is hearing the coast of China, for she can tune in the local ocean with her unshelled ear. Conchs excel at bringing in the distance; John Falter heard the Pacific that way when a boy in Kansas. But he’s wrong in saying conchs also make good doorstops; they creep, and the door goes wham! A brick is better. That ccast-side porch is near Falter’s California home, but the water is the Atlantic, off Maine. No use trying to understand the painters.” (The Saturday Evening Post, July 21, 1956, p. 3)

Creator:
John Philip Falter (1910-1982, American)
Creation Year:
1956
Dimensions:
Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Period:
1950-1959
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Fort Washington, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU38436299822
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