Joseph Christian Leyendecker
First Long Suit, Post Cover
1937

About the Item

Signed by Artist Lower Right The Saturday Evening Post cover, September 18, 1937 One of the most prolific and sought-after artists of the Golden Age of Illustration, J.C. Leyendecker captivates the public with his striking, fashionable depictions of handsome men, glamorous women, and adorable children. Painted in 1937 First Long Suit not only encapsulates the high-fashion, glamorous fantasy world that Leyendecker strove to achieve over the course of his vastly successful career, it also poignantly captures a bittersweet moment that every parent experiences--watching our children grow up right before our eyes. Born in Montabaur, Germany, Leyendecker came to Chicago with his Catholic family at age eight. He apprenticed to a printer, J. Manz and Co., and then studied with John Vanderpoel at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1896, he won the Century magazine cover competition, which essentially launched him professionally. Two years later, he went to Paris to the Académie Julian with his brother, Francis Xavier, and they learned the "hachure" method of drawing whereby blended shading was not allowed. It was a time when poster art was very popular, and when he returned to America, the artist applied these new methods to his work. With a secret recipe combining oil and turpentine, J.C. and his brother, Frank, perfected a crosshatch method of working in oil paint that gave the speed of pencil and the visual impact of color without the brush going dry.

Creator:
Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874 - 1951, American)
Creation Year:
1937
Dimensions:
Height: 27.75 in (70.49 cm)Width: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)
Medium:
Oil
Period:
1930-1939
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Fort Washington, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU384312316992
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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.

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(Biography provided by M.S. Rau)