William Haskell Coffin (October 21, 1878 – May 12, 1941) was an American painter and commercial artist. He flourished in the early decades of the twentieth century, and his work appeared on the covers of leading magazines in the United States. He also produced posters commissioned by the US government.

Biography

Coffin was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, on October 21, 1878, the son of Julia (Haskell) and George Mathewes Coffin. When he was young, his family moved to

Washington, DC 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, where he attended the Corcoran School of Art. After a brief stint back in Charleston, where he painted portraits of society ladies, he went to France in 1902 to complete his training as an artist. Coffin specialized in images of women, which were reproduced on the covers of popular magazines such as ''

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 ...

'', ''

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) ...

'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Communications, Hearst magazine division. It is one of the "Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publicatio ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Leslie's Illustrated'', and the '' Pictorial Review''. He was one of the most highly paid illustrators of his era. Coffin was married twice. His second wife was actress Frances Starr; they eventually divorced. Coffin was being treated for depression in an institution in St. Petersburg, Florida, when he leaped from a third-floor window and died on May 12, 1941. Image:Joan of Arc WWI lithograph2.jpg, World War I era poster Image:SaturdayEveningPost17Apr1915.jpg, ''Saturday Evening Post'' cover, April 17, 1915

References

20th-century American painters American male painters 1941 suicides 1941 deaths 1878 births Artists who died by suicide 20th-century American male artists Suicides by jumping in Florida {{US-painter-1870s-stub