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Illustrating Modern Life: The Golden Age of American Illustration from the Kelly Collection
Exhibit book for "Illustrating Modern Life: The Golden Age of American Illustration from the Kelly Collection" held at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at the Pepperdine University. This collection features all of the paintings and drawings in the show, along with a few additional pieces. There are nearly 70 pieces which are reproduced from the originals by the premier illustrators during the 1890s through the 1930s. They include Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, N.C. Wyeth, Mead Schaeffer, Howard Pyle, J.C. Leyendecker, Joseph Clement Coll, among others. Museum director Michael Zakian provides an essay on the time period and artists represented. An interview with Richard Kelly by David Apaotff is included.
- GenresArt
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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March 26, 2022
I enjoyed this book as an armchair opportunity to see an exhibit I’d have loved to go to in person. The title does a good job of explaining the theme of the exhibit, and I particularly enjoy how illustrations like these capture daily life and fashion of the period, even if it’s often idealized or aspirational.
The first quarter of the approximately 100 pages of this book is text, with an overview of the exhibit by museum director Michael Zakian, followed by an interview with the collector who owns all the pieces, Richard Kelly. The remainder of the book is high quality reproductions of about 70 works of art, most in color. They’re organized alphabetically by artist, then by date. The introduction includes a little analysis of a few of the paintings, and once I figured out how the book was organized, it was easy to refer to them as I was reading.
According to Zakian, the Golden Age of American Illustration was from 1880 to 1930. It was launched by the 1879 invention of halftone photo engragiving printing. Prior to that, illustrations were limited to black ink woodblock prints on white backgrounds.
I don’t know how I came across this book; I think I came across one of the illustrators and was looking for more books featuring their work. As noted, I enjoyed the depictions of everyday life. As Zakian points out, while museum art was becoming more abstract, illustrators were focused on realism, both capturing and appealing to the ordinary lives of the majority. While a museum painting might be viewed by a few dozen people, these artists knew their work would be seen by hundreds of thousands. Some focused on the modern inventions of the day, while others took a more nostalgic approach.
I was curious about the Kelly Collection, hoping I’d have an opportunity to see it. But while the interview refers to a gallery, it seems to be a private collection accessible only through temporary museum exhibits like this one or by scholars through special arrangement. As of 2022, this 2013 exhibit at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA is the most recent. Looking at the Kelly Collection website, this appears to be the only commercial book featuring the Kelly Collection, though there are also a few catalogs of earlier exhibits available for sale as well as digital images of a few pieces (not all of the collection) by artists on the site (www.kellycollection.org).
Some of my favorite paintings in this book include:
“Holeproof Hosiery Advertisement” (1923) by McClelland Barclay - I liked how it captured the fashion of the era, depicting a woman in a yellow drop-waist dress subtly showing off her matching yellow silk stockings.
“Old House in the City” (1913) by Walter Harrison Cady for “In the Path of Progress” in Life, August 21, 1913- A lushly landscaped, charming home in the midst of skyscrapers. Per the interview with Kelly, this was an actual place that became the Dyckman House museum in New York.
“Mary Washing Jesus’ Feet” (1923) by Dean Cornwell for The Man of Galilee by Bruce Burton, Cosmopolotan Book Club, 1928 - I liked the style, reminiscent of an ancient mosaic, and the bold contasting colors.
“Coat Check Girl” and “The Customs Inspector” (1930) by Elbert McGran Jackson for Collier’s Weekly, March 1930 - playful images that tell a story, as the hatcheck girl admires her reflection in one of the top hats in her compact, and another woman gives the inspector the side-eye as he gleefully discovers a tiny bottle among her things. Reminds me of Norman Rockwell, but a bit more subtle and mature, not quite as comic.
“A Modern Witch” (1923) by Francis Xavier Leyendecker for the cover of Life October 4, 1923 - a young woman in a filmy yellow dress and apron rides a vacuum instead of a broom.
Image: http://www.thekellycollection.org/a_l...
“First Airplane Ride” (1909) by Joseph Leyendecker for the cover of Collier’s Weekly, August 28, 1909 - This is the book cover illustration, painted just a few years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. Notice the ship’s steering wheel, there’s still a bit of fantasy woven in. Leyendecker invented the New Year’s baby, and inspired Norman Rockwell.
“Talk to Boston” (1910) by John Rae - I just liked how this seemed to depict a snapshot of daily city life, and the pretty dress.
“Mother’s Morning” (1902) by Jessie Willcox Smith for “A Mother’s Day” by Jessie Willcox Smith, Scribner’s Magazine, December 1902 - A painting of a mother putting her daughter’s stockings on. I like how she captured that relaxed, vaguely entitled attitude of young children who have complete faith that their parents will take care of their needs.
Image: http://www.thekellycollection.org/a_s...
The first quarter of the approximately 100 pages of this book is text, with an overview of the exhibit by museum director Michael Zakian, followed by an interview with the collector who owns all the pieces, Richard Kelly. The remainder of the book is high quality reproductions of about 70 works of art, most in color. They’re organized alphabetically by artist, then by date. The introduction includes a little analysis of a few of the paintings, and once I figured out how the book was organized, it was easy to refer to them as I was reading.
According to Zakian, the Golden Age of American Illustration was from 1880 to 1930. It was launched by the 1879 invention of halftone photo engragiving printing. Prior to that, illustrations were limited to black ink woodblock prints on white backgrounds.
I don’t know how I came across this book; I think I came across one of the illustrators and was looking for more books featuring their work. As noted, I enjoyed the depictions of everyday life. As Zakian points out, while museum art was becoming more abstract, illustrators were focused on realism, both capturing and appealing to the ordinary lives of the majority. While a museum painting might be viewed by a few dozen people, these artists knew their work would be seen by hundreds of thousands. Some focused on the modern inventions of the day, while others took a more nostalgic approach.
I was curious about the Kelly Collection, hoping I’d have an opportunity to see it. But while the interview refers to a gallery, it seems to be a private collection accessible only through temporary museum exhibits like this one or by scholars through special arrangement. As of 2022, this 2013 exhibit at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA is the most recent. Looking at the Kelly Collection website, this appears to be the only commercial book featuring the Kelly Collection, though there are also a few catalogs of earlier exhibits available for sale as well as digital images of a few pieces (not all of the collection) by artists on the site (www.kellycollection.org).
Some of my favorite paintings in this book include:
“Holeproof Hosiery Advertisement” (1923) by McClelland Barclay - I liked how it captured the fashion of the era, depicting a woman in a yellow drop-waist dress subtly showing off her matching yellow silk stockings.
“Old House in the City” (1913) by Walter Harrison Cady for “In the Path of Progress” in Life, August 21, 1913- A lushly landscaped, charming home in the midst of skyscrapers. Per the interview with Kelly, this was an actual place that became the Dyckman House museum in New York.
“Mary Washing Jesus’ Feet” (1923) by Dean Cornwell for The Man of Galilee by Bruce Burton, Cosmopolotan Book Club, 1928 - I liked the style, reminiscent of an ancient mosaic, and the bold contasting colors.
“Coat Check Girl” and “The Customs Inspector” (1930) by Elbert McGran Jackson for Collier’s Weekly, March 1930 - playful images that tell a story, as the hatcheck girl admires her reflection in one of the top hats in her compact, and another woman gives the inspector the side-eye as he gleefully discovers a tiny bottle among her things. Reminds me of Norman Rockwell, but a bit more subtle and mature, not quite as comic.
“A Modern Witch” (1923) by Francis Xavier Leyendecker for the cover of Life October 4, 1923 - a young woman in a filmy yellow dress and apron rides a vacuum instead of a broom.
Image: http://www.thekellycollection.org/a_l...
“First Airplane Ride” (1909) by Joseph Leyendecker for the cover of Collier’s Weekly, August 28, 1909 - This is the book cover illustration, painted just a few years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. Notice the ship’s steering wheel, there’s still a bit of fantasy woven in. Leyendecker invented the New Year’s baby, and inspired Norman Rockwell.
“Talk to Boston” (1910) by John Rae - I just liked how this seemed to depict a snapshot of daily city life, and the pretty dress.
“Mother’s Morning” (1902) by Jessie Willcox Smith for “A Mother’s Day” by Jessie Willcox Smith, Scribner’s Magazine, December 1902 - A painting of a mother putting her daughter’s stockings on. I like how she captured that relaxed, vaguely entitled attitude of young children who have complete faith that their parents will take care of their needs.
Image: http://www.thekellycollection.org/a_s...
Displaying 1 of 1 review