George Ericson (1893–1936), who worked under the name Eugene Iverd, was an American illustrator, teacher, and painter.Jean Ericson Sakumura, "My Father: The Post Illustrator. (Illustrator Eugene Iverd)", Saturday Evening Post. July 2000.

Early life

Iverd was born January 13, 1893, in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, and he graduated from high school in

Waseca, Minnesota Waseca ( ) is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,229 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, t ...

. He received degrees from the Saint Paul School of Art and The

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

in Philadelphia.George Ericson; "Artist Dies", ''Erie Daily Times'', June 4, 1936, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Career

Iverd came to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, in September 1921 directly from the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In the army, he was an instructor at the Walter Reed Hospital in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he was located between August 1919 and July 1921.Jean Ericson Sakumara, "My Father: The Post Illustrator. (Illustrator Eugene Iverd)", Saturday Evening Post. July 2000. In the summer of 1921 he was hired as an art instructor at the Erie school district assigned to Academy High School. He is remembered fondly as an art instructor among his many successful students:

Joseph Plavcan Joseph Michael Plavcan (July 19, 1908 – February 7, 1981) was an American painter and teacher, active in Erie, Pennsylvania. Early life, family Plavcan was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, to Czechoslovakian immigrant parents. Soon after his ...

, Wilbur Adams,

Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series '' CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981) ...

, Andrew H. Hintenach, Lester Roesner, and Harry Simpson.P.J. Ferritto, "Museum Gets Erie Man’s Old 'Post' Cover Art". ''Erie Press'', April 17, 1971, Erie, Pennsylvania. When he was at Academy High, he sent many Erie students to the Academy of Fine Arts at Philadelphia. At one time, there were six of his students out of one hundred there. He gave his time to the art classes until 1930, when his commercial work became too heavy. In his career he designed a series of four calendars and completed work for the Erie Lithograph Co., and for the U.S. Lithograph Co. in Brooklyn. Iverd was nationally known for covers he painted for the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'', ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'', and ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded '' Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904) ...

''. He also made several paintings for the Dorrance Co. (owners of Campbell's Soup), '' Successful Farming'', ''

Christian Herald The ''Christian Herald'' was an American weekly newspaper reporting on topics relevant to Evangelical Christianity, with an emphasis on engaging with humanitarian causes at home and abroad. It was inspired by the London-based newspaper which ceas ...

'', ''

The Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

'', Monarch Foods, Winchester Western Company, Pure Oil Cooperation, Iodent Toothpaste and the ''

Buffalo Evening News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, the ...

''.Kevin Cuneo, "Erie’s illustrious illustrator", ''Showcase'', February 11, 1982. Erie, Pennsylvania.

Legacy

He used Erie children as models for his work. Ericson remained in Erie and did not move to a Metropolitan area because he was assured of securing child models that had the "glow of sunshine in them".Meg Loncharic. "Museum’s Nostalgic Art of Eugene Iverd". Erie Times News. February 18, 1973. Erie, Pennsylvania. As an illustrator, he shared an important accomplishment alongside artists as

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

, Norman Wyeth,

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist and one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century. Though he considered himself to be an "abstractionist," Wyeth was primarily a realis ...

, and

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 ...

. They all had in common that they sold paintings to the Curtis Publishing Company that were used for covers on the ''Saturday Evening Post''. He produced 29 covers for the ''Saturday Evening Post'' between 1926 and his death in 1936.Karen Merkle, “Erie’ illustrious illustrator lives again in museum exhibit.” Erie Historical Museum Exhibit, February 21, 1985. Erie, Pennsylvania. Many Erie children who posed for Ericson appeared on the cover of magazines, calendars, and advertisements. He had a niche for capturing the joys and wholesomeness of boyhood, and children were the subjects of many of his paintings. In 1930, George and Lillian Ericson purchased a plot in the Glenwood neighborhood of Erie, where he personally designed and had built a large house with five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, two fireplaces, three chimneys, and many interesting features. The oak beams in the living room ceiling were imported from Canada, and the walls were plastered in the French style, which Ericson personally demonstrated to the craftsmen building his house. The wooden doors inside the house are interesting and unusually shaped: no two are identical. One year after Ericson's sudden death in 1936, Mrs. Lillian Ericson sold the house to Richard and Katherine Yates, and it has since changed hands six more times. In 2002, it underwent a major renovation and refurbishing, and much of the original look was restored. Two of the Iverd paintings are still hanging in the house today, including "Fall" above the living room fireplace and one of his "Saturday Evening Post" covers above the studio fireplace in the room he used for paintings. In Erie there is a mural by Ericson in the Zem Zem Children's Hospital, and a large collection of his work is at the Erie School Board at the Erie History Center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iverd, Eugene 1893 births 1936 deaths 20th-century American illustrators 20th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Erie, Pennsylvania Painters from Pennsylvania Educators from Pennsylvania Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Educators from Minnesota 20th-century American male artists