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Joseph Christian LeyendeckerBoy Scouts Signaling with Flags, Original cover for The Post and Boys' Life1911
1911
$275,000
£205,411.83
€238,142.26
CA$381,830.63
A$427,982.97
CHF 222,838.18
MX$5,225,855.25
NOK 2,829,235.20
SEK 2,681,860.50
DKK 1,776,799.20
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About the Item
J.C. Leyendecker's "Boy Scouts Signaling with Flags," first published on the cover of The September 9, 1911 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, quickly became an iconic image of the Boy Scouts of America, which was founded the previous year. Embodying core values like leadership, teamwork, and preparedness, its widespread reproduction cemented its status as a defining visual representation of the organization.
The painting depicts two scouts practicing flag signaling, a vital early 20th-century communication skill and a requirement for the Eagle Scout rank until 1950. One scout confidently signals the letter “L” in Semaphore Code, while the other, binoculars in hand, embodies vigilance and teamwork as he watches for a response. Their focused expressions and determined postures reflect the self-reliance central to scouting. Leyendecker reinforces the message of readiness by including the Boy Scouts' First Class eagle pin emblem and the motto "Be Prepared" at right.
The image became a hallmark of Boy Scout publications, appearing on the November 1912 Boys’ Life cover, gracing humorous editions of the Boy Scouts of America: Handbook for Boys, and being adapted for various formats, including posters, and even medals awarded to scouts who participated in the 1913 Great Suffrage Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C. With this painting, Leyendecker captured the essence of scouting, and it lives on as a timeless symbol of the organization.
- Creator:Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874 - 1951, American)
- Creation Year:1911
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Fort Washington, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: 47941stDibs: LU384315752612
Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Joseph Christian "J.C." Leyendecker was born in Germany in 1874. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1882. His eldest brother, Adolph, became a prominent stained glass artist, and Joe, as he was called, had an early artistic calling.
After studying at the Chicago Art Institute under John H. Vanderpoel, J.C. Leyendecker enrolled at the Académie Julien in 1896, where he studied for a year with his younger brother Frank in the Beaux-Arts tradition. During his time there, he was exposed to and influenced by the works of Art Nouveau painters and printmakers Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret and Alphonse Mucha, with whom he formed a strong friendship. The next year, he staged his first one-man exhibition at the Salon du Champ-de-Mars and made the auspicious acquaintance of Paul Gauguin.
In 1898, Leyendecker produced the first of 48 covers for Collier’s magazine. The next year, he painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post magazine, which was the beginning of a 44-year association with that esteemed publication. Throughout his career, he would also paint covers for Life magazine, illustrations for a library of books, and transform advertising for such companies as B. Kuppenheimer & Co. and Interwoven Socks. His work for Arrow Shirt is the most well-known and beloved.
Using his lover and manager, Charles Beach, as a model, Leyendecker created the ultimate image of modern American masculinity. His work for Kuppenheimer, also known as the House of Kuppenheimer, is just as iconic. Founded in 1876, the company became the manufacturer of uniforms for the United States Army during World War I. Thanks to Leyendecker's advertising, the firm became synonymous with the ultimate in male taste and desirability.
Unfortunately, near the end of his career, as Leyendecker’s associations with Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post came to an end, his work fell into obscurity. When he died in 1951, his great friend Norman Rockwell, who commemorated their relationship in his painting Waiting for the Art Editor, served as one of his pallbearers.
Find original J.C. Leyendecker prints and paintings on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by M.S. Rau)
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