And like many of his contemporaries, he demonstrated early talent that was nurtured by his parents. In 1889 he completed what education he was to get. His family was unable to pay for further education in the arts, so Leyendecker apprenticed himself at the age of 15 to J. Manz & Co., a Chicago engraving house. He took art lessons in the evenings at the Chicago Art Institute. One of his primary instructors there was John H. Vanderpoel, whose books on anatomy are still being sought after today. Vanderpoel studied in France and brought the classical Academie techniques to his instruction. His efforts must have been effective, because Leyendecker quickly advanced from errand boy to staff illustrator at his day job.

Issues 2, 4, 5, 11 & 12
feature Leyendecker artwork.

In 1896, he won a Century Magazine cover competition (2nd place was Maxfield Parrish!) that brought his work to national notice. (His winning entry is at right.) This led to cover assignments to other national magazines, like Inland Printer for whom he did all twelve of their covers for 1897. The work was produced, however, from Paris. Joe and his brother Frank, also a very talented artist, traveled to France in the Autumn of 1896. There, the brothers studied in the famous Academie Julian and Colarossi. The Leyendeckers were considered the most talented members of their class, and Joe even had a one-man show of his work at the smaller of the two major Salons - The Champs du Mars. [The Leyendecker name is curiously absent from the lists found in Lois Marie Fink's American Art at the Nineteenth-Century Paris Salons.] The brothers returned to America in the Fall of 1898 and opened a studio in Chicago. 

There are only a handful of books illustrated by JCL, as the cover assignments traditionally paid better and required little if any more effort. His first book illustrations were in 1895 for The Dolly Dialogues and One Fair Daughter. Next came The Pit: The Epic of the Wheat in 1903, Ridolfo in 1906, Iole and Mortmain in 1907, and The Crimson Conquest in 1908.

In 1905 he began a relationship with Arrow Collars (later Arrow Shirts) for whom he created just one of the icons he introduced into American psyche. The Arrow Collar Man was the counterpoint of The Gibson Girl and was one of the most successful advertising images in history. It turned Arrow into the largest collar/shirt brand in America. He provided the bulk of their advertising until 1930. Girls swooned over the images of handsome young men, all painted from models who each received mountains of fan mail each time a new face appeared in the ads. The first model Leyendecker used was Charles Beach (see sidebar).

Other clothing manufacturers and magazines vied for his work and he prospered. He built a large house in New Rochelle in 1914. WWI found him working on war posters with a distinguished group that included Gibson, Christy, Flagg and Wyeth. After the war, if anything, he was more successful. He had a split with his brother Frank in the early 20's. No one seems to know what it was about, but Frank left the New Rochelle home where Joe had built him a wing for his private use. He reportedly died of an overdose in early 1924.

It should be remembered that though Frank was an excellent artist himself, he constantly struggled with the label of "J.C. Leyendecker's brother." According to Schau, he had trouble completing jobs, which may account for the dearth of his art. To see my favorite, click here: Frank X. Leyendecker

Leyendecker's art was always immediately recognizable after 1905. He developed a distinctive brush technique and a unique use of highlights within shadows. Some of his originals appear almost unfinished because he let the underpainting show through to represent the brightest highlights. This intriguing technique was to have an unlikely echo when groups of Filipino comic book artists in the 1960's would adopt the approach. I have a painting by Alfredo Alcala that pays homage to Leyendecker with this brush technique.

Some of the new commissions were war posters featuring the commanding officers of the U.S. forces encouraging the purchase of war bonds. The American Weekly hired him in 1945 to do covers. A Sunday supplement to the Hearst newspaper chain, the Weekly was printed on newsprint. The quality of the reproduction was nothing like Leyendecker had been used to and it must have rankled him. The effort he put into the paintings showed some of his frustrations. Many were recycled Post covers with minor changes. In 1951, while working on yet another American Weekly cover, Leyendecker had a heart attack and died. His sister and Beach had a yard sale of his canvases (and there were many as he tried to always insist on the return of his originals). $75 would have purchased any of the Post covers. sigh...

Some samples of illustrations
other than covers: