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Home > Artists > Haddon Sundblom

Haddon Sundblom

Born: June 22, 1899 | Died: March 10, 1976

Haddon Sundblom

Biography

The son of Scandinavian immigrants, Haddon Sundblom is best known for his illustrations of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola advertisements. He illustrated Coke's Santa from 1931 to 1964, though Sundblom's Santa is so entwined with Christmas and Coke, the company continues to use his paintings to promote their product. So important was the relationship between Sundblom and Coca-Cola that his version of Santa remains the most recognizable.

In 1957, Sundblom's illustration of the Quaker Oats man helped to popularize the brand. In addition to his advertising work, Sundblom painted hundreds of pin-up paintings. A mentor to Gil Elvgren, Andrew Loomis, and others, Sundblom is credited as one of most influential pin-up artists of the 20th Century.

Illustrations by Haddon Sundblom

Play RefreshedThe Coca-Cola Companyhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/play-refreshed
Shaw-Barton Calendar Company pinupUnknownhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/shaw-barton-calendar-company-pinup
Coca-Cola SantaThe Coca-Cola Companyhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/coca-cola-santa

Additional Resources

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

Bibliography

Buchholz, Karleen. Coca-Cola Collectible Santas. Dallas, TX: Beckett Publications, 2000.

Charles, Barbera Fahs and J.R. Taylor. Dream of Santa: Haddon Sundblom's Advertising Paintings for Christmas, 1931-1964. New York: Gramercy Books, 1992.

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
    • Fairy Tales and Fables
    • 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
  • Rolf Armstrong Rolf Armstrong
  • Robert Childress Robert Childress
  • Thomas Crane Thomas Crane
  • Gil Elvgren Gil Elvgren
  • Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson
  • J.C. Leyendecker J.C. Leyendecker
  • Andrew Loomis Andrew Loomis
  • Jean-Baptiste Monge Jean-Baptiste Monge
  • Thomas Nast Thomas Nast
  • Ben Stahl Ben Stahl
  • Coby Whitmore Coby Whitmore
Related Time Periods
  • The Decade 1930-1940 The Decade 1930-1940
  • The Decade 1940-1950 The Decade 1940-1950
  • The Decade 1950-1960 The Decade 1950-1960
  • The Decade 1960-1970 The Decade 1960-1970
  • The Decade 1970-1980 The Decade 1970-1980

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Art Works. National Endowment for the Arts. arts.gov

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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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