100 Years of Illustration

Introducing E.A. Abbey

Next: The great illustrator Edwin A. Abbey, R.A. Click to enlarge this illustration from Harper's Monthly Magazine of November 1906. It is of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, from Act II, Scene II. She is depicted imploring her husband, "Give me the daggers."

For more about Abbey, go to Bud Plant's site at this link.

This is a photo of E.A. Abbey, R.A. that appeared in an article about him in Harper's Monthly Magazine for May 1900, when Abbey was in his late forties. By that time he had become probably the best known and admired illustrator, painter and muralist in both Britain and the United States.

This is Abbey's Studio we are told (but the eminent author, painter and art critic Henry Strachey neglects to tell us where in England it is -- or perhaps it's an editorial oversight). It doesn't take an art historian or genius to learn from the photo that this is one painter who works on a grand scale. Click on image to enlarge.

Click on the image to enlarge the photo, a section of Abbey's mural, "Holy Grail," in the Boston Public Library as it appeared in 1898.

Abbey was a mere lad of 21 when this sketch appeared in Harper's Monthly Magazine for January 1873 in the section entitled "Editor's Drawer" depicting a "persuasive rascal, this wandering dog-fancier." The words are not likely those of Abbey but of the London correspondent for the magazine.

Abbey's illustration of French refugees for the same section in Harper's Monthly Magazine appeared in the April 1873 issue. Click on these images to enlarge them.

Earl Oliver Hurst - 3

Just three more from Mitch Itkowitz's great new book dedicated to the work of this remarkable illustrator to be found at Graphic Collectibles. The following images are reproduced here with permission.
Click on each image to enlarge it.

This is a page from an issue Collier's in the 1940s. Look at how carefully Hurst has deliniated the taxi cab. It's a 1940 Plymouth, which was in use at the time, and not some hybrid he dashed off in an attempt to speed up the job and get it off his drawing board. The characters are more cartoony than usual.

A cover from Saturday Home in 1949. Look at those hands and how beautifully he has done them without a trace of overwork. Proof of an illustrator who knows how to draw without slavish resort to photos.

Another cover from an issue of Saturday Home in the 1940s. There is glamor in this cover and and every bit as good as that seen in the haughty covers of the fashion magazines of the times.

Earl Oliver Hurst - 2

Click on each image to enlarge it.

This is the new book, the only book that I know of, dedicated entirely to the work of this talented illustrator and a long-time favorite of mine. Thanks to Mitch Itkowitz of Graphic Collectibles for making this title available to us. All of the following images, except for the black-and-white sketch page, are reproduced here with permission.

Cover for Saturday Home Magazine of 25 January 1947. His work for this publication consisted mostly of close-ups and what were called "clinches" in those days.

Some guys can draw faces, others concentrate on figures, backgrounds, whatever. Hurst could do it all. This is a cover for the 24 January 1948 issue of Collier's that shows him at his prime in his 53rd year.

I'm indebted to cartoonist Gene Byrnes and his book A Complete Guide to Professional Cartooning copyright 1950, for this page showing Hurst's warm-up sketches for the Collier's cover that appears below. Hurst is quoted: "Learning to draw is easy. Any art school can do a fair job. It's learning to think that's important. Ask yourself: 'What's it for?' 'Whom is it going to appeal to -- men, women or children?' 'What kind of people -- hillbilly or Park Avene dwellers?' "How is it going to be reproduced and on what kind of stock and paper?' "

This would be as good a time as any to explain the difference between Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post. One was lively, the other stodgy. The flow of ad revenues from major print to television caused both of these weeklies to fold, so it had little to do with their content. Hurst could not have sold a cover to the Post anymore than Norman Rockwell would ever have appeared in Collier's. Different strokes for different folks.

Collier's for 26 June 1948, and one of Hurst's very best covers. He's taken great liberties with her waist but it doesn't hurt the illustration or lessen the impact of the cover, which is what was required for impulsive newsstand sales.

Saturday Home Magazine cover for 02 October 1948.

Saturday Home Magazine cover for 24 January 1948.

Saturday Home Magazine cover for 01 October 1949.

Earl Oliver Hurst - 1

My favorite of all the illustrators working in this loose pretty-girl style of mid-century. Hurst was the most colorful and the most flamboyant. For more images, click on this link.

Hurst at his best. Collier's Magazine for 19 July 1952. Click on the images to enlarge them.

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More in the next post and a look at the big new book of Hurst illustrations.