You will hear about a fascinating artist – J. C. Leyendecker- who’s illustrations epitomized the lifestyles of America in the early 20th century. Note: this will be a PG rated episode. His commercial art – primarily in magazines, became an iconic art style from the 1900’s through the 1930’s. You may not have heard the name of Leyendecker – but he was also a major influence for Norman Rockwell, one of America’s most beloved 20th century artists. You will learn of the evolution of Leyendecker’s style – from the Paris art scene of the 1900’s to then reflecting the elegant lifestyle of the 1920’s that men and women strived for. But, in clever and subtle ways – his art also reflected his hidden lifestyle. See his images at the bottom of the page.
The guest for the interview is Judy Goffman Cutler, Director of the National Museum of American Illustration (NMAI). Please find below photos of Vernon Court (which houses the NMAI collection), and Judy Goffman Cutler.
Judy Goffman Cutler is an art dealer, art collector, co-founder and Director of the National Museum of American Illustration, and founder and Executive Director of the American Illustrators Gallery, NYC, the premier gallery showcasing major original artworks from the ‘Golden Age of American Illustration’. The collection includes works by Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, NC Wyeth, Howard Pyle, JC Leyendecker, Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Howard Chandler Christy, Violet Oakley, James Montgomery Flagg, and many other illustrators. Judy started collecting in the ‘70’s and officially named this special group of artists from the Golden Age of American Illustration “The American Imagists” when the NMAI opened to the Public on July 4, 2000. The National Museum of American Illustration houses her American Imagists collection in a Gilded Age Mansion, on Bellevue Avenue, Vernon Court, Newport RI, designed by Carriere & Hastings (1894-1903).
In the 1980s, she was the first to tour original artworks by the greatest American Illustrators, including Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish, in Europe, including Cortina d’ Ampezzo and Rome, Italy, Paris, France and London, England, and in Asia, including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, Japan. She continues to organize and curate art exhibitions across the United States and internationally, and has authored and co-authored over fifty exhibition catalogues and art books published by Bison Books/Crescent Books (Random House), Harry N. Abrams, and Pomegranate Artbooks.
Photo Credits:
Top photo: J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), COUPLE IN BOAT – ARROW COLLAR AD 1922, oil on canvas, Arrow Collar Ad., Multiple Image Display: J.C. Leyendecker CAROUSEL RIDE 1930, oil on canvas, Saturday Evening Post, September 5, 1930 cover, J.C. Leyendecker NEW YEAR’S BABY 1912 – VOTES FOR WOMEN 1912, oil on canvas, Saturday Evening Post, December 30, 1911 cover, J.C. Leyendecker LABOR DAY AT THE BEACH1932, oil on canvas, Saturday Evening Post, September 3, 1932 cover, J.C. Leyendecker DANCING COUPLE – ARROW COLLAR AD 1930, oil on canvas, Arrow Collar advertisement, printed in Saturday Evening Post, November 8, 1930, J.C. Leyendecker, U.S. MARINES 1917, poster, Recruiting and enlistment poster, U.S Marines, J.C. Leyendecker CENTURY MID-SUMMER’S HOLIDAY NUMBER AUGUST-POSTER 1897, Century Magazine Holiday Number August, August, 1897, J.C. Leyendecker USA BONDS – WEAPONS FOR LIBERTY 1917, lithograph, Third Liberty Loan Campaign Boy Scouts for America Poster.
