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Home > Artists > Frank Xavier Leyendecker

Frank Xavier Leyendecker

Born: January 19, 1876 | Died: April 18, 1924

Frank Xavier Leyendecker

Biography

Although Frank Xavier Leyendecker (1876-1924) was the younger brother of famed illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, he was no less talented and creative. F.X. Leyendecker painted several cover for Collier’s magazine between 1902 and 1905, making him better known than his brother for a short period of time. During their early careers, the two shared a home and studio, and a lively, competitive spirit with regard to their work. 

Born Franz Xavier Leyendecker in Montabaur, Germany, Leyendecker emigrated to the U.S. at six years old with his brother, Joseph Christian, and his sister, Augusta. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and the Académie Julian in Paris under Benjamin Constant. In addition to producing numerous covers for Collier's, Leyendecker also illustrated for Life, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and The Saturday Evening Post, among others.

In his 1960 autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, Norman Rockwell recounts a story about a dinner that he and his wife Irene O’Connor hosted many years before for neighbors J.C. and F.X. Leyendecker in New Rochelle, New York. “They were quite short and walked in step with real military precision,” Rockwell noted. “They wore white flannels, double-breasted blue blazers with shiny brass buttons, and stiff straw hats.” In an uncomfortable twist of fate, the turkey that had been prepared crashed to the floor and rolled under the dining room table shortly after their arrival. The incident broke the ice and did not dampen their spirits. “When that turkey bounced under the table we all of a sudden became friends. We remained friends for over twenty-five years.”

F.X. Leyendecker died of a morphine overdose at age 48.

Illustrations by Frank Xavier Leyendecker

The FlapperPublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/the-flapper
Pierrot and ColumbinePublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/pierrot-and-columbine
The Balance of PowerPublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/the-balance-of-power
TouchdownPublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/touchdown

Additional Resources

  • Yesterday’s Papers
  • “The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000,” by Walt Reed

Bibliography

Kipling, Rudyard and Frank X. Leyendecker. With the Night Mail: A Story of 2000 A.D. New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1909.

Miller, Elizabeth and Frank X. Leyendecker. The City of Delight: A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem. Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1908.

Poltarnees, Welleran. Covering Christmas: Vintage American Magazine Covers. Seattle, WA: Darling & Co., 2004.

Reed, Walt. The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000. New York: Society of Illustrators, 2001.

Genres
  • Advertising
    • Corporate
    • Political and Public Service
    • Product
    • Self-Promotion
  • Books
    • Children’s Books
    • Cover Art
    • Interior Illustration
  • Cartooning
    • Advertising
    • Caricature
    • Political and Editorial
    • Sports
    • Spot
  • Comics
    • Comic Books
      • Manga
    • Comic Strips
  • Decorative & Applied Illustration
    • Info Graphics
    • Murals
    • Portraiture
  • Fantasy
    • Adventure
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    • Mythology
  • Fashion
    • Advertising
    • Design
  • Graphic Novels
    • Fiction
    • Non-Fiction
    • Visual Memoir and Autobiography
  • Internet Illustration
    • Web Comics
    • Website Illustration
  • Magazine
    • Cover Art
    • Story Illustration
  • Moving Image
    • Animation
    • Concept Art
    • Storyboard
    • Video Game Design
  • Newspaper
  • Non-Commissioned Work
  • Poster
    • Event (Promotional)
    • Film
    • Political
    • Propaganda
    • Travel
  • Product Illustration
    • Album/CD
    • Calendars
    • DVD/VHS/Videogame
    • Greeting Cards
    • Packaging
    • Paper Dolls
    • Postage Stamps
  • Pulp Illustration
    • Pinup Art
    • Pulp Magazines
  • Science Fiction
    • Creatures
    • Outer Space
    • Technology
  • Technical
    • Anatomy
    • Archaeological
    • Architecture
    • Courtroom Drawings
    • Horticulture
    • Mechanical
    • Natural History
Global Perspectives
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia
RELATED ARTISTS
  • Franklin Booth Franklin Booth
  • James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg
  • J.C. Leyendecker J.C. Leyendecker
  • Norman Rockwell Norman Rockwell
Related Time Periods
  • Late 19th Century Late 19th Century
  • The Decade 1900-1910 The Decade 1900-1910
  • The Decade 1910-1920 The Decade 1910-1920
  • The Decade 1920-1930 The Decade 1920-1930

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"The great band of illustrators have shown us to ourselves and I am proud to be among their company."
- Norman Rockwell

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