Corinne Malvern (December 13, 1901 – November 9, 1956) was an American
commercial artist
Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of prom ...
, active as a fashion advertising artist and illustrator of children's books between the early 1930s and her death in 1956. She painted magazine covers and worked as Art Editor of Ladies' Home Journal magazine. She is best known for her illustrations in the
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942.
''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
series, including ''Heidi'', '' Frosty the Snow Man'' (also known, incorrectly, as ''Frosty the Snowman''), ''The Night Before Christmas'', ''Doctor Dan the Bandage Man'', and ''Nurse Nancy''. She illustrated 32 books, 17 for Little Golden Books. She also wrote and illustrated at least one children's book (''How Big'', later republished as ''How Big Are You'', Little Golden Books, 1949). Her last book, ''Five Pennies To Spend,'' was published in 1955.
Biography
Malvern was born in
Accomack County, Virginia
Accomack County is a United States county located in the eastern edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Together, Accomack and Northampton counties make up the Eastern Shore of Virginia, which in turn is part of the Delmarva Peninsula, bordere ...
, and raised in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Gladys Malvern (born July 17, 1903, or 1897) worked as child actresses in plays vaudeville, and operas. She claimed to have been born in 1906, but the 1920 United States Census, photographs of her on stage in 1907 (portraying a character supposed to be three years old), a 1907 New York Evening Telegram article and ships' passenger records, make it clear she was born in 1901.
Malvern performed in the Henry W. Savage New English Grand Opera Company in the American premiere of Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly in the role of the child "Dolore" ("Sorrow," or "Trouble" in English), Butterfly's son, in front of an audience that included the Viscount Aoki, Japanese Ambassador to the United States, and
John Luther Long
John Luther Long (January 1, 1861 – October 31, 1927) was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly", which was based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husba ...
, author of the novella on which the opera was based on October 15, 1906 (the Metropolitan Opera premiere followed, in February of the following year), and subsequently toured with the production across the United States and Canada.
By 1910 the two sisters were working regularly in traveling vaudeville productions, as well as in the burgeoning New York movie industry, Gladys as an ingenue and Corinne as "fairies, babies, witches, and other funny little people." In 1915 Corinne appeared in a motion picture, ''The Luring Lights,'' as the character Rose Malleen.
After being injured in a railroad accident during a vaudeville tour, probably when she was in her early teens, she retired from her stage career and was sent to a boarding school while her mother and sister continued their itinerant careers. Encouraged by her family, she studied for four years at the Art Students League of New York In 1930 Corinne (now an advertising illustrator for a milliner and single), Gladys (now a sales manager for a department store and divorced), and their mother (listed in the census as a widow, employed as a stage costumer) were living together in Los Angeles, where Corinne worked as a fashion illustrator and continued her art studies as a pupil of
Theodore Lukits
Theodore Nikolai Lukits (November 26, 1897 – January 20, 1992) was a Romanian American portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of glamorous actresses of the silent film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspir ...
. By 1932, she was working as a commercial artist and establishing her reputation as an illustrator. Working primarily in tempera, pencil, pastel, and watercolor, she created magazine covers and fashion illustrations, and exhibited her work, mostly portraits and figure studies, in galleries. She collaborated with her sister, Gladys, who was becoming established as a professional writer, and the two of them launched their careers in the field of children's books.
Corinne Malvern never married. She moved to New York sometime between 1934 and 1936 with Cora and Gladys, and continued to collaborate professionally with Gladys. They published ''Land of Surprise'' in 1938, ''Brownie, the Little Bear Who Liked People'' in 1939, and ''The Land of Look And See'' in 1940 with McLoughlin Bros., Inc. Their 1943 book ''Valiant Minstrel,'' a biography of the Scottish entertainer Sir Harry Lauder, won the $1250 Julia Ellsworth Ford Prize. Corinne illustrated ''Nursery Songs'', one of the initial offering of twelve Little Golden Books, issued in 1942 (but not the cover painting, which was by
Louise Alston
Louise Alston is an Australian film director and producer best known for the movies ''All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane'' and '' Jucy''.
Biography
Alston was born in Wagga Wagga, and studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School ...
). She worked as Art Editor for the Ladies Home Journal, and was a prolific and influential advertising illustrator who helped create the iconic 'fifties "look." She and Gladys shared a studio overlooking the Hudson River. They were living together at Slumber Corners in
Weston, Connecticut
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the ...
when Corinne's health failed. She moved to a convalescent home in Weston, where she died on November 9, 1956, after a long illness.
References
External links
* Corinne Malvern as a child actress, after a photograph that can be found in the J. Willis Sayer collection, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle