Dean Cornwell
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Dean Cornwell (March 5, 1892 – December 4, 1960) was a left-handedDean Cornwell
at the National Museum of American Illustration; published no later than September 2, 2016
American
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
and
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
ist. His
oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
s were frequently featured in popular magazines and books as literary illustrations, advertisements, and posters promoting the
war effort War effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and civilian—towards the support of a military force, particular during a state of war. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...
. Throughout the first half of the 20th century he was a dominant presence in American illustration. At the peak of his popularity he was nicknamed the "Dean of Illustrators".


Background

Cornwell was born in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. His father, Charles L. Cornwell, was a civil engineer whose
drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...
s of industrial subjects fascinated Cornwell as a child. He began his professional career as a
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
for the '' Louisville Herald''. Soon thereafter he moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, where he studied at the Art Institute and worked for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''. In 1915 he moved to
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
, a well known
artist colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, Art school, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typica ...
, and studied in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
under Harvey Dunn at the
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...
. Eventually he traveled to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to study mural painting as an apprentice to Frank Brangwyn. Brangwyn's style influenced Cornwell's artistic development in "rendering the human figure, bold outlines, flattened picture plane, and graphic approach to composition." Cornwell married Mildred Kirkham in 1918 but married life was difficult. From 1935 until his death, Dean and Mildred lived separately but never divorced. Cornwell taught and lectured at the Art Students League in New York. He served as president of the Society of Illustrators from 1922 to 1926, and was elected to its Hall of Fame in 1959. In 1934, he was elected into the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
as an Associate Academician, and became a full Academician in 1940. He served as president of the National Society of Mural Painters from 1953 to 1957.


Career

Cornwell's paintings were in ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'', ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'', '' Redbook'', and '' Good Housekeeping'' magazines, illustrating the work of authors including Pearl S. Buck, Lloyd Douglas,
Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Cima ...
,
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
,
W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
, and
Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer. His novel ''The Virginian (novel), The Virginian'', published in 1902, helped create the cowboy as a folk hero in the United States and built Wister's reputation as the " ...
. Cornwell's February 1953 cover of a riverboat for ''
True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...
'' was later made into a U.S. Postage stamp as part of the
USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
's 2001 American Illustrators series. Although a prolific and successful magazine illustrator, Cornwell felt that such advertising was too ephemeral, and that magazine illustration was not enough to "guarantee his artistic immortality" and sought means to permanently showcase his talent through mural painting where his work could be readily viewed by the public. In 1927, the Los Angeles Public Library held a competition to paint the central rotunda of the building with murals depicting the history of California. Cornwell submitted three entries, two under pseudonyms and one under his real name, competing with 25 other muralists. Cornwell won the competition under his own name, and won 2nd and 3rd with his two other entries. He completed the murals in 1933, composed of four large oil paintings, 40 feet wide, and eight 20-foot murals containing over 300 figures for the commission price of $50,000. The successful completion of the Los Angeles Public Library murals led to more commissions at other public buildings, such as the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in
Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is located a ...
, " The History of Transportation" in the
Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
Building (now 10
Rockefeller Plaza Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
), executed
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...
murals in two post offices,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...
and
Morganton, North Carolina Morganton is a city in and county seat of Burke County, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Catawba River. The population was 17,474 at the 2020 census. Morganton is approximately ...
, with other murals in the Warwick New York Hotel in New York City, the New England Telephone headquarters building in Boston, the Davidson County Courthouse and Sevier State Office Building in
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, and the
Centre William Rappard The Centre William Rappard at Rue de Lausanne 154, Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1923 and 1926 to house the International Labour Office (ILO). It was the first building in Geneva designed to house an international organization. In 1975 t ...
in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. His murals were seen by millions of visitors, and millions more were reached through his published reproductions of murals. Cornwell served as president of the National Society of Mural Painters from 1953 to 1957. By the time the U.S. entered
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Cornwell was commissioned to create paintings of men in combat by the War and Navy departments, and by corporations like the
Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded as the Fisher Body Company by Frederic and Charles Fisher in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan when they absorbed a fledgling autobody maker. By 1916 the concern had grown into one of the world's large ...
company. Cornwell also painted patriotic imagery for the Coca-Cola Company, the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
, and did portraiture of wounded GIs as part of the U.S.O. entertainment program organized by the Society of Illustrators. It was during WWII that Cornwell was commissioned to illustrate two of his most successful works for '' The American Weekly'' for "Dean Cornwell Paints the Holyland" and "Dean Cornwell Paints the Missions." After World War II television became the more popular medium and people were less inclined to read short fiction from magazines, and heralded the end of the "celebrity illustrator." Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Cornwell remained a popular illustrator but he considered mural painting his "true vocation." Shortly before his death, Cornwell accepted a commission to finish painting a mural for the Berkshire Life Insurance Company after the original commissioned artist, fellow illustrator
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
had trouble with the "complexity of the medium". It was also Rockwell's first attempt at mural painting and he abandoned the project. Cornwell died before completing the mural and his assistant Cliff Young finished the project. Artist and illustrator
James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist, and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his ...
wrote, "Cornwell is the illustrator par excellence-his work is approached by few and overtopped by none...he is the most sought-after illustrator of the day. His secret is this. He is a born artist."


Death

Cornwell continued to work until his failing health. On December 3, 1960, Cornwell experienced severe abdominal pains and was admitted to the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City for surgery but died due to a "heart ailment" on December 4, 1960. He was 68 years old."CORNWELL, PAINTER, 68, DIES: MURALIST WAS MAGAZINE AND BOOK ILLUSTRATOR, NOTED FOR ATTENTION TO DETAIL." New York Times (1923-), Dec 06, 1960, pp. 41.


Examples of Cornwell's work

File:Cornwell Some Necktie Lady 1916.jpg, ''Some Necktie Lady'' (1916) oil on canvas 14.5 inch. x 34 inch. File:Cornwell The Red Shawl.jpg, ''The Red Shawl'' Hearst's International magazine illustration (1921) oil on canvas 34 inch. x 30 inch. File:Cornwell Priest Spanish City 1921.jpg, ''Priest, Spanish City'' (1921) oil on canvas 30 inch. x 34 inch. File:The Bridge, Harper's Bazaar illustration.jpg, ''The Bridge'' Harper's Bazaar illustration (1921) oil on canvas 34 inch. x 30 inch. File:Romantic Couple Seated by Piano.jpg, ''Romantic Couple Seated by Piano'' Hearst's International magazine illustration (1922) oil on canvas 34 inch. x 36 inch. File:Laying the Cornerstone of Old East.jpg, ''Laying the Cornerstone of Old East'' (1941), at the Chapel Hill Post Office File:Mosaic and Murals in the Los Angeles Central Library dllu.jpg , Murals in the Grand Rotunda of the
Los Angeles Central Library Richard J. Riordan Central Library, primarily known as the Los Angeles Central Library, is the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), in Downtown Los Angeles. It is named after Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan. It consists o ...
depicting California history (1933)


Notes


References

* Anne-Leslie Owens
Dean Cornwell
The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
Telephone Men and Women at WorkDean Cornwell: Dean of Illustrators
by Patricia Janis Broder, Hardcover 240 pages Publisher: Collectors Pr (October 1, 2000)
The Art of Dean Cornwell
by Daniel Zimmer, Hardcover 224 pages Publisher: Illustrated Press.


External links


Dean Cornwell collection at the National Museum of American IllustrationWorks in the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwell, Dean 1892 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters American muralists Artists from Louisville, Kentucky Artists from New Rochelle, New York Art Students League of New York faculty Art Students League of New York alumni Painters from Kentucky National Academy of Design members People of the New Deal arts projects American magazine illustrators 20th-century American male artists American illustrators