Illustrator Research - Norman Rockwell

Illustrator Research - Joseph Leyendecker

Illustrator Research - Tamara de Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland to a wealthy family. Desperate to become independent from her family, in 1916 she married a well-known ladies' man by tempting him with a large dowry. In 1917 her husband was arrested during the Russian Revolution, but she searched the prisons and got him out. Due to her husband's laziness, she began painting, inspired by Art Deco and Picasso. In 1925 she participated in her first major show and was an instant success. During the 20s she met with many artists including Picasso and had affairs with both men and women. Her husband eventually got tired of it and divorced her in 1928. Her busy career and socialite status left no time for her daughter who was pissed at her mother for not being there. Tamara lost all her money in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 but cemented his status when she married a Baron in 1933. In 1962 she retired after her new style was not taken well by critics. After he husband's death in 1962, she lived with her daughter and her family for awhile and complained about the good ol' days until she died in her sleep in 1980.

Illustrator Research - Maxfield Parrish

Maxfield Parrish was born in 1870 in Philadelphia. His interests at a very young age were always aimed at art.  In college he tried to join one of Howard Pyle's classes, and Pyle told him he had nothing to teach him. He did join a few of Pyle's classes but realized Pyle was right and began his career. He illustrated for several magazines and books, and by 1904 he the covers for many magazines. From 1937 to 1962 he painted luminescent landscapes for calenders. He was best known for his color, which was called "Parrish blue." He died in 1966 in his studio in his sleep.

Illustrator Research - Ludwig Hohlwein

Ludwig Hohlwein was born in Germany in 1874. He was trained as an architect until 1906 when he decided poster design was the way to go. During WWI he designed propaganda posters for Germany. He is known as the most prominent poster designer Germany will ever seen now and forever. By 1925 he had designed over 3000 posters for advertisements. He died in 1939 but his designs were still used after his demise.

Illustrator Research - Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham was born in 1867 in London as one of twelve children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk but studied art on the side. He didn't really publish much when he was a clerk, but in 1892 he left his secure job to become a full-time illustrator. Most of his work was mostly in children's books but was overall stiff and dull. In 1905, however, after publishing Rip Van Winkle (5th picture) his style developed, and he reached his peak and published many more stories ranging from Shakespeare to classic stories. He keep up this steady stream of brilliant art until his death in 1939.

Illustrator Research - James Montgomery Flagg

James Montgomery Flagg was born in 1877 in New York and was already publishing in several prominent magazines when he was 12. Between 1898-1900 he studied fine art in London and Paris, then returned to the United States and was publishing again. His most famous work was the "I WANT YOU for the U.S. Army"  propaganda poster with Uncle Sam on it done in 1917 for WWI. Interesting fact- Uncle Sam's face is based on Flagg's 'cause it was easier than finding a model. He was the highest paid illustrator at his peak. He died in 1960.

Illustrator Research - Frederic Remington

Before I even start on this guy, I just want to say one thing. What's with all the fucking cowboys?

...

Anyway, Frederic Remington was born in 1861 in Canton, New York to a military father who fought in the Civil War, and that's where Remington got his obsession with cavalry and military operations. He did go to art school but slacked off a lot. He got his first publication in a magazine mainly due to his uncle, and overall disliked commercialized art since publishers sacrificed art and truth to action and sensationalism. And he wanted to draw more cowboys. He proposed to the same girl three time over several years, and she finally accepted on the third try, which just goes to show that persistence works eventually. In 1897 he went on scene to illustrate moments of the Spanish-American war. The war made him unhappy, so he started making bronze horses. He died in 1909 in his studio from appendicitis.

Illustrator Research - Edmund Dulac

Edmund Dulac is a French illustrator born in 1882. He started a career in law until he got bored with it and switched to art. After graduating he moved to England, started working for a publishing house, and illustrated his first story Rip Van Winkle. It was a success, and he started illustrating many different stories including Peter Pan, Arabian Nights, The Little Mermaid, and more. After the war, his books were not longer selling, but he did other things like design stamps for England (Oh, how far the mighty have fallen, Frenchy). After a decade or two of drawing for so many things including banknotes, he eventually died of a heart attack in 1953.

Illustrator Research - Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter born in 1890. Noticing his lack of academic talents, his uncle sent his to art school, where he met his mentor Gustav Klimt. Schiele's drawings explored the human form and sexuality, which frankly freaked the hell out of the people at the time. He was kicked out of his house in Vienna in 1911, along with his lover who was also his model, for getting teenage girls to pose for his pictures. In 1912 he was sent to jail for about three days for the same exact thing. In 1915 Schiele choose to marry the socially more accepted girl-across-the-street but still wanted to keep up with his current lover. She left him, and he got really depressed for awhile. When WWI started he was drafted but never fought in any battle 'cause his commanding officers appreciated his talent. In 1918 he died along with his wife from an epidemic of Spanish flu.