has always been one of our favorite artists.
A student of both Harvey
Dunn and Frank
Brangwyn, Cornwell was equally at home with illustrations
and murals. Born in 1892, we've seen his cartoon work in Caricature
- The Wit and Humor of a Nation, a compilation of material
from Judge, as early as 1912.
In
the 20's, his work could often be found in Cosmopolitan Magazine
providing large, dynamic illustrations for serialized novels and
later in the books into which they were compiled. The image at
left is from The City of the Great King which, along with
The Man of Galilee, presented a dozen large color images
each. Other minor treasures of the decade are found in the novels
of Peter B. Kyne and Oliver Curwood, which contained an image
or three by Cornwell from their original magazine appearances.
Though often in color in Cosmo, the book versions were
often shown in two- or three-color versions. By the end of the
decade, he was working in all of the popular publications of the
period. Magazines from this era are so cool, I wish there was some way to see every issue of every magazine. Look for the
above two book titles, plus fiction titles such as Never the Twain
Shall Meet, The Enchanted Hill and The Pride of
Palomar - all by Peter B. Kyne. Many of them were issued with
color Cornwell dustjackets as well.
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By the 30's and 40's, Dean Cornwell was a household name. His
patriotic war posters and full-page color advertisements were
everywhere: Seagrams Whiskey, General Motors, and Coca Cola -
to name a few. |
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He created a series of placards commemorating
great moments in medicine for Wyeth and Brother. The image at
left is "Conquerors of Yellow Fever". Every drugstore
in America was happy to display them in their windows, giving
more visibility to Cornwell's art. Today almost every example
of these images is found in a sun-faded state. The perils of popularity.
[click here
for the other five.]
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Cornwell executed some wonderful murals, some of which can
still be seen in the Los Angeles Library. He was a president
of the Society of Illustrators from 1922-1926, a member of the
Dutch Treat Club from at least 1927 to 1949, and a frequenter
of "The 21 Club" in New York, for which he provided
the painting at left which appears in The Iron Gate of Jack
& Charles "21", the 1950 Memorial Edition.
Said book also contains "Venus and the organ player -
with apologies to Titian" by Cornwell.
In 1947 and 1952 he returned to images of the Near East with illustrations for Lloyd Douglas' two immensely popular novels, The Robe and The Big Fisherman. Each title contained eight double-page color paintings crafted at the height of his talent. We prefer the first Houghton-Mifflin editions, personally, but even the editions from The Peoples Book Club provide striking testimony to the talent of this great artist. |
click above for more Cornwell information.
Find out more about
Dean Cornwell:| Dean Cornwell - Dean of Illustrators | Patricia Janis Broder, 1978 Balance House/Watson-Guptill |
| Forty Illustrators and How They Work | Ernest W. Watson, 1945 Watson-Guptill |
| The Illustrator in America 1880 to 1980 | Walt and Roger Reed, 1984 Madison Square Press |
| The Illustrator in America 1900-1960's | Walt Reed, 1966 Reinhold |
| 200 Years of American Illustration | Henry Pitz, 1977 Random House |
| Step-By-Step Graphics Vol. 3, No. 3 | Mar/Apr 1987. Learning From Masters of the Past - By Walt & Roger Reed |
| The Vadeboncoeur Collection of Knowledge | Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. 1997 |
| The Vadeboncoeur Collection of ImageS B&W 2 | Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. 2004, JVJ Publishing |
|
Illustrations copyright by their respective
owners. This page written, designed & © 1997 by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Updated 2011. |
