100 Years of Illustration

John Falter 1910-1982

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How silly can advertising be? Even in the midst of huge bloodletting and maiming that took place throughout World War II, the pointy heads of ad managers and account executives prevailed at the expense of our uniformed military. Not to mention commandeering the skills of our most talented illustrators. This is a prime example: the client is major tobacco placing its ads on Madison Avenue to promote a cigarette that is promoted to be "one millimeter longer," if I can recall the pitch. The illustrator is the famous John Falter.

Can you imagine that this young officer about to be shipped out to invade a Pacific island would be comparing the length of cigarettes with his drop-dead gorgeous date? Illustrator John Falter, whom Norman Rockwell called America's most gifted illustrator, did any number of great covers for the old Saturday Evening Post and ended his days as an easel painter of distinction. I think his female model here was none other than Lisa Fonssagrives (1911-1982) who may have been the first supermodel in this country. 

For more about John Philip Falter click on these links: Illustration House and Nebraska Studies.

From the sublime to the ridiculous in illustration. The slide begins

We've seen the great characterization work of Florence Scovel Shinn and others uploaded into this blog, and while such realistic portrayals of our fellow man by equally competent illustrators continued -- and I'll get to them for certain later on -- I want to document what happened at the beginning of the slide to the simpering smiling faces we've been subjected to in all forms of advertising and sales promotion. This is an ad produced for the Pontiac division of General Motors which appeared in print in 1944. 

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G.I. Joe, from Central Casting. For an image of what dogfaces really looked like in their battle gear, see the work of Bill Mauldin.

His identical twin in the U.S. Marine Corps

Another handsome devil of a male model posing as a merchant mariner. I have never in my life seen a tassel on a navy watch cap worn by an American.

Of course all the members of the Women's Army Corps (WACs) were as fetching as this female model.

And Lord knows how much we love nurses, this lovely creature an angel indeed.