Richard Sargent

Shade Tree

1958

Richard 'Dick' Sargent, one of The Saturday Evening Post’s most prolific illustrators, was a Midwesterner born in Moline, Illinois, on March 26, 1911. His early career in art began just after his graduation from Moline High School when he went to work for a local printing and engraving plant. While there, Sargent attended night classes at the Moline Illinois Art School, the foundation for his future career as an artist. Sargent then studied at the Corcoran School of Art, and in 1951, he completed his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, “Truth About Santa,” for the December 15 Christmas issue. While Sargent’s popularity grew through the exposure he received with the Post, he also did illustration work for magazines such as Fortune, Woman’s Day, Photoplay, and American Magazine among others. Americans adored Sargent and his art for his ability to show relatable, pregnant scenes with open-ended conclusions that commented on the situational comedy of life. In the late 1960s he retired to the Andalusia region of Spain and died there in 1978.