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)
Water Wings, Saturday Evening Post Cover, 1922
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Sight Size 24.00" x 19.00", Framed 32.50" x 27.00" Cover of The Saturday Evening Post, August 26, 1922. Exhibitions: JC Leyendecker...
Canvas, Oil
'Goin' South' Saturday Evening Post Cover Study
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned 'Goin' South' Saturday Evening Post Cover Study
Canvas, Oil
Easter, Saturday Evening Post Magazine Cover
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 24.75" x 18.63", Framed 34.00" x 18.50" Saturday Evening Post Cover, March 23, 1918 Exhib...
Canvas, Oil
Toy Maker Study
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Upper Left
Canvas, Oil
Basting the Turkey, Saturday Evening Post Cover Study
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Laid on Board Signature: Unsigned The Saturday Evening Post, November 16, 1912 cover Study (Thanksgiving Edition)
Canvas, Oil, Board
The Inland Printer
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Pen, Ink, and Wash Details over Printed Background Signature: Printed Signature in Image, Right. Opening page for the July 1897 isssue of The Inland Printer...
Ink, Pen
Man Dressing in Mirror
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Featured in The Saturday Evening Post
Canvas, Oil
Study for Saturday Evening Post Cover, Peeling Apples
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: Nov 28, 1925 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 14.00" x 11.20" Signature: Unsigned Study for Saturday Evening Post Cover, November 28, 1925
Canvas, Oil
Policeman and School Children, SEP Cover, Oct. 3, 1931
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Right Cover Illustration: Saturday Evening Post, October 3, 1931
Canvas, Oil
Three Amoco Studies
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signed by Artist Lower Right Amoco Oil Advertisements
Oil
Lucky Bag Girl
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Hand Painted Fine Print Signature: Signed Lower Left
Paint
Toy Peddler Study
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right
Canvas, Oil
Study for 'Trimming the Pie'
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Unsigned Medium: Oil and Charcoal on Canvas This piece is a preparatory study for J.C. Leyendecker’s final painting, Trimming the Pie (19...
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil
Study for New Year's Baby (Blowing Bubbles)
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned This is a study for the cover illustration of the 1 January 1927 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
Canvas, Oil
$210,000
Thanksgiving, The Saturday Evening Post cover, November 12, 1910
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Laid on Panel Signature: Signed Lower Right The Saturday Evening Post cover, November 12, 1910
Canvas, Oil, Panel
General Douglas MacArthur
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right In the Timken War Bond campaign, JC Leyendecker completed more than a dozen paintings that were rep...
Canvas, Oil
$60,000
Doctor Looking into Childs Mouth, Study for SEP Cover, 1930
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Study for the November 22, 1930 cover illustration of The Saturday Evening Post.
Canvas, Oil
Study for 'Happy Landing' Amoco Ad
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil and Pencil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned During his over four decades as the preeminent illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post, Joseph Christian Leyendecker's clever illustrations were eagerly anticipated by enthusiastic readership across the country, and none more so than his holiday designs. One of Leyendecker's most celebrated creations was his groundbreaking idea of the New Year's Baby. Originally portrayed as a fleshy sweet-faced child complete with tiny angel wings, the New Year's Baby gradually morphed into a worldly tot acutely aware of the social and political issues facing the nation at the time. In fact, Leyendecker's final Post cover illustration was the 1943 New Year's Baby. Following the success of these Post covers, the artist was hired to create advertisements for the American Oil Company (AMOCO). Throughout the 1940s and through the final years of his life, Leyendecker produced ads incorporating his famed New Year's Baby into AMOCO advertisements, as in the present work, Happy Landing...
Canvas, Oil, Pencil
A Spread for Bread, Karo Corn Syrup Advertisement
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned Sight Size 18.00" x 13.50", Framed 25.50" x 20.50" This illustration was used as a Karo Corn Syrup advertisement.
Canvas, Oil
$32,000
Upset Stomach, The Saturday Evening Post, Preliminary Cover
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned The finished painting of this illustration was featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, ...
Canvas, Oil
Easter Baby, Study
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Study Easter Sunday Baby
Oil
In the Luxembourg Gardens, Paris
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Pen and Ink on Paper Signature: 11.00" x 11.50" Dimensions: Signed Initials Upper Right
Ink, Paper, Pen
Sore Throat, Saturday Evening Post Cover
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signed by Artist Lower Right Saturday Evening Post Cover, November 22, 1930
Oil
Price Upon Request
New Year's Baby Hitching to War
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left The Saturday Evening Post unpublished cover, 1943 The story behind the New Year's Baby Hitching to War is a fascinating one: The...
Oil, Canvas
Price Upon Request
Happy Landing, Amoco Advertisement
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Sight Size 20.75" x 40.00", Framed 30.75" x 50.00" During his over four decades as the preeminent illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post, Joseph Christian Leyendecker's clever illustrations were eagerly anticipated by enthusiastic readership across the country, and none more so than his holiday designs. One of Leyendecker's most celebrated creations was his groundbreaking idea of the New Year's Baby. Originally portrayed as a fleshy sweet-faced child complete with tiny angel wings, the New Year's Baby gradually morphed into a worldly tot acutely aware of the social and political issues facing the nation at the time. In fact, Leyendecker's final Post cover illustration was the 1943 New Year's Baby. Following the success of these Post covers, the artist was hired to create advertisements for the American Oil Company (AMOCO). Throughout the 1940s and through the final years of his life, Leyendecker produced ads incorporating his famed New Year's Baby into AMOCO advertisements, as in the present work, Happy Landing...
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
Which One? Saturday Evening Post Cover
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 28.00" x 24.00", Framed 30.00" x 27.00" Cover of Saturday Evening Post Magazine, October 31, 1908. Exhibitions: It's a Man's World, Illustration Art by and for Men: November 14-17 2012, Illustration House NYC The National Arts Club NYC Jan 6- 19 2013 Christie's New York, Illustrating America: Norman Rockwell and His Contemporaries, November 30, 2013- January, 2014 Joseph Christian Leyendecker was one of the most famous and prolific illustrators of his time and painted one less cover for The Saturday Evening Post than Norman Rockwell. He was the creator of the cherubic New Year’s Baby and the handsome Arrow Shirt Man who set the style for men’s fashion for decades. In addition to his beautiful men, women and children, Leyendecker’s covers and advertisements depicted subjects ranging from sports to war to politics. This 1908 Post cover shows a young newsboy holding pictures of William Howard Taft...
Canvas, Oil
The Speed God Mercury, Collier's Magazine Cover
By Joseph Christian Leyendecker
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Sight Size 29.25" x 21.00", Framed 44.00" x 35.00" The Speed God Mercury, Collier's Magazine Cover, January 19, 1907 Leyendecker,...
Oil