“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
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
$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
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
“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
$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
$11,000
Gold Mining Camp
By Tom Lovell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Dimensions: Sight Size 18.75" x 26.00;" Framed 26.00" x 33.00"
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
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
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
$1,979
H 23.63 in W 31.11 in D 1.97 in
Walking Home, Contemporary Figurative Cityscape Painting, Landscape Park Art
Located in Deddington, GB
Walking Home [2023] original Oil on Canvas Image size: H:8.5 cm x W:10 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:46 cm x W:55 cm x D:1.5cm Frame Size: H:60 cm x W:79 cm x D:5cm Sold Fram...
Canvas, Oil
$655
H 5.91 in W 5.91 in D 0.99 in
triptych of Pocket Speckled Green Pear, Bright Clementine, Crimson Strawberry 2c
By Dani Humberstone
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Bright Clementine is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque still life painting. The paintings are set in a black wood layered frame...
Canvas, Oil
$5,384
H 30.71 in W 25.6 in D 0.79 in
18th Century Oil on Canvas Portrait, Major Alexander Brown in Military Uniform.
By Sir David Wilkie
Located in Cotignac, FR
18th Century Military portrait of a young officer in Napoleonic period military dress. The painting is not signed but the subject is Major Alexander Brown. The work is oil on canvas later mounted on board and presented in a fine 'Regence style' carved gilt frame. There are labels to the back referring to the subject, 'Major Brown of Trinity' and a framers trade label from Edinburgh. A magnificent and imposing portrait of a young military officer in the prime of his life. His red uniform adorned with fine buttons, fringed epaulettes and high gilt collar. His ruddy complexion offset by his stylish hair, a quiff and swept forward to the sides as was the fashion at the time. Sir David Wilkie RA (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841) was a Scottish painter, especially known for his portraits, including formal royal ones, and scenes from his travels to Europe and the Middle East. He painted successfully in a wide variety of genres, including historical scenes. His main base was in London, but he died and was buried at sea, off Gibraltar, returning from his first trip to the Middle East. He was sometimes known as the "people's painter". He was Principal Painter in Ordinary to King William IV and Queen Victoria. Apart from royal portraits, his best-known painting today is probably The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch of 1822 in Apsley House. Sir David Wilkie was actually admitted in 1799 (despite only being 14) through the influence of the Earl of Leven...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$225,000
H 13.75 in W 10.75 in
Young Girl in Blue, Romantic Oil Painting on Canvas, 19th Century
By Frederick Arthur Bridgman
Located in New York, NY
Signature bottom right Frederick Arthur Bridgman was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, then later moved to Boston and New York. Before long, he had enlisted a group of Brooklyn businessme...
Canvas, 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
$45,000
H 40 in W 35 in
"Leaf Pattern" Jessie Arms Botke, Yellow Leaves, Bamboo Forest, Sandhill Cranes
By Jessie Arms Botke
Located in New York, NY
Jessie Arms Botke Leaf Pattern, circa 1930 Signed lower right Oil on Masonite 30 x 25 inches Charlotte Yarbrough, Santa Paula, California Private Collection, Oregon William A. Karge...
Masonite, Oil
$5,391
H 30 in W 25 in D 1 in
The Dueling Partners 1850's French Oil, Chateau Staircase Interior Beautiful oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Duel by Alcide Joseph LORENTZ (French 1813-1891) signed and dated 1857 oil painting on canvas, framed framed size: 30 x 25 inches canvas: 25 x 20.5 inches condition: very good an...
Canvas, Oil
$1,200
H 26.5 in W 18.5 in D 1 in
A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle"
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle" by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A colorful Southern painting depicting a ...
Masonite, Oil
Gas Station Attendant (African American artist)
By Earl Hill
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Earl Hill (1927-1985). Gas Station Attendant, 1966. Oil on masonite panel, 10.5 x 13.5 inches, 15 x 18 inches framed. Signed and dated lower right. Inscribed...
Masonite, Oil
$4,455Sale Price|70% Off
H 33.5 in W 26 in
Orientalist "Moorish Soldier Holding a Rifle" Manuel Garcia Hispaleto
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Moorish Soldier Holding a Rifle" Manuel Garcia Hispaleto (Spanish, 1836-1898) Watercolor on paper Signed lower left "MGHispaleto" Original wood frame with gilded stucco 18 3/4 x 12 1/2 (33 1/2 x 26 frame) inches Manuel García Hispaleto, originally Manuel García y Martínez (22 November 1836, Seville -26 December 1898, Madrid) was a Spanish painter known for portraits and costumbrista (genre) scenes. His brother, Rafael García...
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
$18,000
H 33 in W 38 in D 2 in
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC
Located in New York, NY
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC Saul Kovner (1904-1981) Hot Summer Night 25 x 30 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower left and dated‘48 Fr...
Canvas, Oil
$3,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 18 in W 15 in
1938 Cuban Illustration Gouache Painting Carteles Magazine Andres Garcia Benitez
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original illustration by Cuban artist Andres Garcia Benitez which was used for the cover of the iconic Carteles magazine in November of 1938. ...
Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration 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