Harold Von Schmidt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Harold von Schmidt (May 19, 1893 – June 3, 1982) was an 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 ...
, who specialized in magazine interior illustrations.


Early life

Born in
Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...
, in 1893, he was orphaned at the age of five. After a year in an
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
, he lived with his Aunt Lily Von Schmidt, an artist in her own right, and her second husband, Major Charles Lee Tilden, who had been a '' forty-niner'', and founder of Tilden Park in Alameda County. As a youth, von Schmidt worked as a cowhand and a construction worker. In 1920 and 1924, he was on the United States Olympic Rugby team, along with his cousin Charles Lee Tilden Jr. Although the United States team won the gold medal both years, von Schmidt did not play in the only game in 1920, and was sidelined by an injury in the final practice in 1924.


Career

Von Schmidt began his art studies at the California School of Arts and Crafts while he was still in high school. In 1924, he entered the
Grand Central School of Art The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1922 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. It closed in 1944. History The school was established and run by the Gra ...
in New York City. He moved to the suburban community of
New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...
which was 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 home to many of the top commercial illustrators of the day such as Frank and J. C. Leyendecker 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 ...
. Also in residence were Al Parker,
Mead Schaeffer Mead Schaeffer (July 15, 1898 – November 6, 1980) was an :20th-century American illustrators, American illustrator active from the early to middle twentieth century. Biography Schaeffer was born in Freedom Plains, New York, in 1898, the s ...
and
Dean Cornwell Dean Cornwell (March 5, 1892 – December 4, 1960) was a left-handedTom Lovell and N. C. Wyeth would become leaders in the field. He later married and moved to
Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...
. Harold von Schmidt's work appeared primarily in magazines like, ''
Collier's Weekly } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', and ''
Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
''. Although he preferred magazine work and illustrated few books, he spent two years preparing sixty illustrations for a deluxe edition of
Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...
's '' Death Comes for the Archbishop''. In 1948, he was recruited by Albert Dorne to be one of the founding faculty for the
Famous Artists School Famous Artists School is an art correspondence course institution, in operation since 1948. The school was founded by members of the New York Society of Illustrators, principally Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell. History The Famous Artists ...
. He was awarded the first gold medal by the trustees of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1968.


Death

Harold died on June 3, 1982, in
Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...
.


Family

Harold's son
Eric Von Schmidt Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 – February 2, 2007) was an American folk musician and painter. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a key part of the Cambridge folk music scene. As a singer and guita ...
was a well-known singer-songwriter associated with
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
. Harold had 3 children, a daughter Joan from his first marriage and sons Peter and Eric from his second marriage.


References


Bibliography

*Reed, Walt. ''Harold Von Schmidt Draws and Paints the Old West''. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Press, 1972. *Von Schmidt, Harold. ''The Forty-Niners: An Exhibition of Paintings''. Ottumwa, Iowa: John Morrell & Co, 1949. *Von Schmidt, Harold, and John M. Carroll. ''Von Schmidt, the Complete Illustrator''. ort Collins, CO Old Army Press, 1973. *Von Schmidt, Harold, and Walt Reed. ''The Western Art of Harold Von Schmidt''. New York: Peacock Press/Bantam Book, 1976.


External links

* - retrieved July 31, 2006
The Illustrated Gallery - Harold von Schmidt
- retrieved July 31, 2006

- retrieved July 31, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Harold Von 20th-century American illustrators 1893 births 1982 deaths Artists from New Rochelle, New York United States international rugby union players Presidents of the Society of Illustrators Sportspeople from Alameda, California Rugby union players from California