“A storyteller with a brush, a custodian of the past” is how illustrator Tom Lovell once described himself. Lovell is regarded as one of the 20th century’s leading Western artists, with his work including figurative paintings of important historical events, portraits of homespun American life and thought-provoking illustrations for publications such as Life, National Geographic and The Saturday Evening Post.
Born in 1909 in New York City, Lovell spent his childhood in Nutley, New Jersey, where he developed a keen interest in art and Native American culture. He often visited New York’s American Museum of Natural History, where he would sketch Native American clothing, weapons and artifacts.
Lovell studied art at Syracuse University, where he roomed with future well-known illustrator Harry Anderson. While there, he began his illustration career by selling his work to pulp magazines. Later, he illustrated for publications such as The American, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Home Companion.
During World War II, Lovell enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve and created illustrations for the Marine Corps’s Leatherneck magazine and the Marine Corps Gazette. He also completed several large paintings chronicling historical military events; they are now displayed at the Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, DC.
After the war, Lovell continued illustrating for magazines like Collier’s, Redbook, Ladies’ Home Journal and McCall’s, which featured “Day of Yellow Flowers,” one of his better-known illustrations. He contributed a series of historical works, including his famous Civil War painting “Surrender at Appomattox,” to National Geographic.
Throughout the 1960s, he was increasingly fascinated with the American Southwest. In 1975, Lovell and his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he found inspiration for his landscapes that depict Native American and Old West culture.
Lovell received numerous accolades throughout his career. In 1974, the Society of Illustrators named him a Hall of Fame Laureate. In 1992, the National Academy of Western Art and National Cowboy Museum honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Lovell is the only artist to have won the National Cowboy Museum’s invitational Prix de West exhibition twice.
Lovell died in 1997. His illustrations and paintings continue to be prized by Western art and Americana collectors.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of Tom Lovell’s paintings.
$35,000
Bridal White
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right and Titled on reverse Dimensions: 28.13" x 25.13" (71.45 cm x 63.83 cm) Literature: Temple Bailey, Bridal White, The American Mag...
Canvas, Oil
Love in the Mist, Magazine Illustration
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Love in the Midst, Magazine Story Illustration Ladies Home Journal, June 1959 Tom Lovell had an extreme attention for detail and rarely completed more then a dozen major oil pa...
Board, Oil
$125,000
“A Date for the Baby Sitter” Magazine story illustration for Good Housekeeping
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “A Date for the Baby Sitter” by Eileen Herbert Jordan for Good Housekeeping, published December 1958, illustrated pages 58-59 The full caption reads: “Thus Peggy went forth—sailed might be the better word—escorted by part of the Navy.” The snowy scene features a woman and two sailors leaving the house at Christmas time. Exhibited: The Triumph of Winter, National Arts Club, New York, December 16, 2013- January 5, 2014 Date: 1958 Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 23.20" x 33.50" Signature: Signed Lower Left A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Oil, Board
Below Deck Gouache Painting, Realist Style, Signed, 1950s, 15.2x32
By Tom Lovell
Located in Miami, FL
Charles Martignette Heritage Auctions, This is a Wonderfully rendered work with high level of detail and color saturation. Norman Rockwellesqu...
Gouache
Blondin Crossing Niagara
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Masonite Signature: Signed Lower Left This piece was published as an illustration in True Magazine titled "Blondin Crossing Niagara" in 1953. Born Jean-François Grave...
Masonite, Oil
$75,000
Penobscot Bay Expedition, for “The Cowardly Career of Paul Revere” in True Mag
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Editorial illustration for “The Cowardly Career of Paul Revere” for True, published March 1962. The full published caption reads: “Ordered to halt his flight from the scene of ba...
Board, Oil
"Every Sunday, Mowbray and the boy had dinner together"
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Approximate Date: 1957 Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left Size: 18.70" x 27.00" Story illustration for The Master Move by George Loveridge, published in Good Housekeeping, November 1957. An excerpt from the story reads: “In the evening Mowbray dined at a mahogany table designed to seat ten persons. To his left, in an intricate, gilded frame, hung an oil portrait of his father — a man with a majestic, full gray beard and the same beaked nose that his son had, but with milder eyes (p. 237)…Every Sunday, Mowbray and the boy had dinner together, the two of them at the long, broad, polished table under the eyes of Peter Mowbray. Mowbray often had to fly hundreds of miles to be on time for Sunday dinner with his son, but he did not once fail to be there.” (p. 239-240) A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Board, Oil
“I had the pleasure of knowing your dear departed husband, ” Cosmopolitan
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Magazine story illustration for “Saratoga Trunk” by Edna Ferber for Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan, published July 1941, pages 42-43....
Canvas, Oil
"You love my island already” Story illustration for Woman’s Home Companion
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original magazine story illustration for “A Summer to Remember” by Marjorie Marks for Woman’s Home Companion, published January 1948, pages 20-21. The full caption reads: “‘You love ...
Canvas, Oil
“He’s a dear, but a type you perhaps haven’t met before”
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Magazine story illustration for “A Song for Miss Julie” by Michael Foster for Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan, published March 1944, page 39. The tale is described as: “A delicious story about a couple of Broadway playwrights who invade the Old South looking for scandal and come up drenched in magnolia.” The full caption reads: “I think someone should talk to you about men of Stephen’s type, my dear,’ said Mrs. Kimbro. ‘He’s a dear, but a type you perhaps haven’t met before.’ Miss Julie gasped. ‘But Mrs. Kimbro!’” A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Canvas, Oil
Formal Affair
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: July 1942 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 36.00" x 26.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Illustration for Cosmopolitan magazine. Tom Lovell’s illustrations range from adventur...
Canvas, Oil
“‘Richer’n horse manure!” Editorial illustration for True magazine’
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Editorial illustration for “Lady Luck’s Favorite Boy” by Arnold Hoffman for True, published March 1951. The full published caption reads: “He held the quartz under my nose. ‘Richer...
Canvas, Oil
The Glass Fortress
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signed Lower Right by Artist Lawrence Williams and Nell O’Day, “The Glass Fortress,” American Magazine, August 1950, illustrated, n.p. Daniel Zimmer, Tom Lovell: Illustrator, Decatu...
Oil
Trapper's Morning, Gouache Painting in Realist Style, Framed
By Tom Lovell
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Trapper’s Morning by Tom Lovell (1909–1997) is an original gouache painting on illustration board measuring 12 by 18 inches, signed by the artist in the lower right corner. The mediu...
Gouache
$53,000
Attorney at Sea
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed TOM/LOVELL (lower left); also titled Attorney/at Sea (on the reverse)
Canvas, Oil
The Crime Scene, Original Magazine Story Illustration
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Illustration for True magazine, presumably published February 1956. Nighttime scene of policemen and bloodhounds investigating a murder on a cobblestone street. Approximate Date: 1956 Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Size: 22.70" x 16.20" Tom Lovell Biography: A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Board, Oil
Happy Endings
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Linen Signature: Signed and Dated Story illustration for "Farewell Without Regret" by Sarah-Elizabeth Rodger for Good Housekeeping, published July 1940, page 58. The...
Linen, Oil
Memoirs Of Casanova, Paperback Cover
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Cover for The Memoirs of Casanova (Bantam books #FB-415, 1957): A New Edition of the French Translation by Lowell Blair Memoirs of Casanova, Paperback Cover, 1957 Tom Lovell ha...
Board, Oil
"Farewell Without Regret"
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Left Medium: Oil Paint Story illustration for "Farewell Without Regret" by Sarah-Elizabeth Rodger for Good Housekeeping, published September 1940, page 47. ...
Oil
$2,350
H 20.625 in W 25.625 in D 1 in
Mid-20th Century Oil on Board Abstract Impressionist Maritime Scene, René Genis
By René Genis
Located in Berlin, MD
Step into the bustling energy of a portside moment with René Genis’ “Les Grues” (The Cranes)”, a captivating oil-on-mat-board painting that transforms the in...
Oil, Illustration Board
Untitled
By André Cottavoz
Located in Berlin, MD
Andre Cottavoz (French, 1922-2012) Untitled, Paris scene with multitude of French flags. Canvas on board, framed. Frame: 20 1/2" x 22" x 1 1/4, Board 13 3/4" x 15"
Oil, Board
$1,000
H 15 in W 17 in
Framed Realist Oil of Trees in Hilly Landscape on Canvasboard
Located in Philadelphia, PA
William S. Butz (American, active Woodstock, N.Y., 1911-39) Field with Trees in Hilly Landscape Oil on canvasboard, 8 3/4 x 11 inches Framed: 15 x 17 inches (approx.) Signed on verso...
Oil, Board
$4,800
H 22 in W 26 in D 1 in
Interior J&L Works, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania American Industrial Scene Painting
Located in Marco Island, FL
An interior scene of industrial America where workers kept the production of steel going in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This detailed and atmospheric painting shows the hard work and ...
Oil, Board
$1,633
H 20.87 in W 24.81 in D 1.19 in
Ernst Louizor ( 1938-2011 ) oil painting on board
By Ernst Louizor
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
Ernst Louizor (1938-2011) a beautiful oil painting on board. This vibrant artwork depicts a bustling village scene, elegantly mounted in its original carved wooden frame from Haiti. ...
Oil, Board
$8,000
H 20 in W 24 in D 2 in
Sunday c.1940 Industrial Landscape Oil Painting of Train Tracks Chicago.
Located in Marco Island, FL
Though born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, artist Ralph Von Lehmden (1908-1970) was the grandson of a German count. He became a noted painter and designer. Lehmden attended the Cleve...
Oil, Board
The Wave
By George Romney
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas 33 x 48 ½ inches; 840 x 1235 mm Painted c. 1793 Collections: George Romney; By descent to Elizabeth Romney (1832-1893), the artist’s granddaughter; Romney sale, Chris...
Canvas, Oil
Amercan Merchant Ship in Philadelphia Harbor
By Thomas Birch
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
Thomas Birch is considered one of the earliest American Marine painters of importance both in his own time and historically, forming the foundation of what would become a great American Maritime movement in the successive years of the 19th century. Born in England, Birch started as a landscape painter but after the War of 1812 he turned to marine subjects, taking inspiration from the best of both English and Dutch maritime traditions but refining these techniques into a very recognizable style all his own. The work featured here is a classic of Birch's later period, when he focused specifically on maritime subjects, mainly the busy waterways of Philadelphia Harbor. Here we see one of those scenes- a series of ships plying their trade, all framed by the city as it sits across the Delaware River, with the tall, white spire of what is either Independence Hall or Christ Church to the left of the main vessel. The details of the city are particularly good in this painting, with the wharf building to the left and the long line of buildings all along the shore. The American Merchant Bark at the center of this painting is rendered in excellent detail, from her house flag and pennant, to her rigging and sails, and down to her deck filled with the activity of crewmembers readying the ship to head out, her gilt billet...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$10,249
H 29.14 in W 29.14 in
Marcel Delmotte – Young Woman with a Sphere Against a Surrealist Landscape.
Located in Wien, AT
This museum-quality artwork perfectly embodies the unique and signature style of the prominent Belgian surrealist Marcel Delmotte, whose works are highly sought after by discerning a...
Masonite, Oil
$3,950
H 20 in W 18 in D 2 in
"Georgia Moonshiner, c. 1935" by Athos Menaboni (1895-1990) American WPA Era Oil
Located in Yardley, PA
A fantastic WPA-era painting of a Georgia moonshiner by famed Italian-American artist Athos Menaboni (1895-1990). This work depicts an older man sporting a brown hat, brown jacket, ...
Masonite, Oil
$6,500
H 22.25 in W 28.25 in D 2 in
“October Morning Matunuck" c. 1925 by Frank Convers Mathewson Rhode Island Oil
Located in Yardley, PA
About this work: “Birches and Huckleberry, October Morning Matunuck" c. 1925 by Frank Convers Mathewson (American, 1862-1941). A stunningly beautiful autumn view of Matunuck, Rhode ...
Oil, Board
$7,500
H 19.5 in W 15.5 in D 1.5 in
“Eastern White Pines, c. 1910”, New England Landscape, Signed Oil Painting
By Charles Warren Eaton
Located in Yardley, PA
“Eastern White Pines, c. 1910” by Charles Warren Eaton (American, 1857-1937). A wonderful example of Eaton’s renowned compositions of Eastern white pine trees in his mature style. A...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$361,700
H 72 in W 85 in D 7 in
"The Walk Back Home" A Monumental "Exhibition" Painting by Carl Lasch
Located in Queens, NY
Carl Lasch (1822-1888 German) "The Walk Back Home" A Monumental Exhibition Painting, Oil on canvas laid to masonite in original gilt-wood frame. ...
Masonite, Oil
$5,694
H 13 in W 9.26 in
Portrait of the Artist's Daughters, American Impressionism Painting, Signed
By William John Hennessy
Located in PARIS, FR
William John Hennessy Thomastown 1839 - Rudgwick 1917 Portrait of the Artist's Daughters Circa 1880 Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard Signed bottom left 33 x 23.5 cm canvas 44 x ...
Oil, Cardboard, Canvas
$9,500
H 25.5 in W 21.5 in D 2 in
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” American Impressionist Portrait Lyme
By Will Howe Foote
Located in Yardley, PA
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) A fantastic portrait of a young Jamaican woman set against a vibrant palm frond, painted by the re...
Oil, Board
“Suddenly he was the lover she’d sent away so long ago.”
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Magazine story illustration for “Wherever You Walk” by Mary Thayer Muller for Cosmopolitan, published February 1956, page 26. The romantic story is introduced by the magazine as fol...
Paint
Up the Staircase
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed and Dated Lower Left Dimensions: Sight Size 30.50" x 34.75," Framed 36.00" x 39.50"
Canvas, Oil
Man and Woman Kissing in Swamp
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Unknown Signature: Unsigned Contact for exact dimensions.
Paint
The Mutiny
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed lower Left
Oil, Board
Artist Muse
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right
Canvas, Oil
Gondola In Venice, 1947
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Masonite Signature: Signed Upper Left Original Use: Interior Illustration for The American Magazine Excellent Condition This luminous, expressive oil on masonite wa...
Masonite, Oil
Balloonists Struggle to Escape a Doomed Gondola
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left Provenance: Commissioned by the National Geographic Society. Exhibitions: Stockbridge, Massachusetts, The Norman Rockwell Museum,...
Oil, Board
"You're Not to Tell Anyone"
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 32.00" x 35.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Story illustration for “Mrs. Parkington” by Louis Bromfield for Cosmopolitan, published November 1942, pages 56 and 57. The full caption reads: “‘And you’re not to tell anyone where you’re going or that you’re going away together,’ Mrs. Parkington said as she told Janie and Ned her plan.” A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Canvas, Oil
Saturday Evening Post Story Illustration
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1942 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 36.00" x 26.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Story illustration for Saturday Evening Post magazine, 1942, page 47. A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll...
Canvas, Oil