• Skip navigation and go to content
  • Go to navigation

Norman Rockwell Museum

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Directions
    • Exhibitions
  • Learn
    • Programs
    • School Programs
    • Curriculum Lab
  • Research
    • Norman Rockwell Collection
    • Archives and Library
    • Rockwell Center for Americal Visual Studies
    • IllustrationHistory.org
    • Frank Schoonover Collection Raisonné
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift
    • Become a Member
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Contact
    • Staff Directory
    • Norman Rockwell Museum e-newsletter sign-up
    • Careers
    • What's my Rockwell Worth?
      FAQ

Illustration History

  • History
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
  • History
    • Time Periods
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
Home > Artists > J.C. Leyendecker

J.C. Leyendecker

Born: March 23, 1874 | Died: July 25, 1951

J.C. Leyendecker

Biography

Admired by Norman Rockwell and acknowledged as one of America’s preeminent 20th century illustration masters, J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951) rose to fame as the creator of elegant artworks for mass publication. He was best known for paintings of fashionable men and women in a sleek, idealized style, perfectly suited for the many corporations that commissioned this work—from Arrow and Kuppenheimer clothing to Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Pierce-Arrow Automobiles, and the United States Armed Forces. Leyendecker was celebrated for his Arrow Collar Man, a sophisticated and idealized trade character of his own design. A sensitive observer, he also created poignant, whimsical works capturing the antics of children, the bond between mothers and their infants, the blush of new romance, and the intensity of athletes engaged in sports. Between 1896 and 1950, Leyendecker illustrated more than 400 magazine covers for the nation’s trade and general interest publications, including Collier’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Judge, and The Saturday Evening Post, for which he created 322 cover paintings (one more than Rockwell’s 321). In addition to his series of New Year’s baby covers, the artist depicted such all-American holidays as the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; the tradition of giving gifts of flowers on Mother’s Day began with his May 30, 1914 Post cover, depicting a bellhop carrying a bouquet of hyacinths. Leyendecker was the artist most closely identified with the Post during the first decades of the 20th century.

Illustration historian Roger Reed notes, “J.C. Leyendecker’s main contribution is to have invented, along with other illustrators, the modern magazine cover as a miniature poster that would engage the viewer, impart an idea, and sell the issue, all within the few moments one browses at the newsstand.” Norman Rockwell Museum’s Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Stephanie Haboush Plunkett observes that “like many illustrators of the era, Norman Rockwell admired and imitated J.C. Leyendecker’s distinctive style, particularly as a fledgling artist in search of his own voice. The two enjoyed a warm friendship during their years as neighbors in New Rochelle, New York."

Classically trained at the Chicago Art Institute, and the Colarossi and Académie Julian in Paris, Leyendecker was a gifted draughtsman and technician who eschewed the use of photography in favor of direct drawing from life. His secret painting medium, a mix of oils and turpentine, produced the rich, fluid brush strokes and luminous painting surfaces that are the hallmarks of his work.

Illustrations by J.C. Leyendecker

HoneymoonCurtis Publishinghttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/honeymoon
Christmas PrayersPublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/christmas-prayers
New Year’s Baby (Beginning to Rain)Curtis Publishinghttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/new-years-baby-beginning-to-rain
New Year’s Baby (Cleaning Up)Public Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/new-years-baby-cleaning-up
To the VanquishedCurtis Publishinghttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/to-the-vanquished
Men ReadingPublic Domainhttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/arrow-collar-advertisement

Additional Resources

  • Yesterday’s Papers
  • “The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000,” by Walt Reed
  • “My Adventures as an Illustrator,” by Norman Rockwell
  • Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators

Bibliography

Bogart, Michele Helene. Artists, Advertising, and the Borders of Art. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Carter, Alice A. Americans Abroad: J.C. Leyendecker and the European Academic Influence on American Illustration. New York: Society of Illustrators, 2008.

Cutler, Laurence S. and Judy Goffman Cutler. J.C. Leyendecker: American Imagist. New York: Abrams, 2008.

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

Schau, Michael. J.C. Leyendecker. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1974.

Streitmatter, Rodger. Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2012.

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
  • Arthur Becher Arthur Becher
  • Franklin Booth Franklin Booth
  • John Philip Falter John Philip Falter
  • James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg
  • Walter Beach Humphrey Walter Beach Humphrey
  • Everett Raymond Kinstler Everett Raymond Kinstler
  • Frank Xavier Leyendecker Frank Xavier Leyendecker
  • Gregory Manchess Gregory Manchess
  • Jean-Baptiste Monge Jean-Baptiste Monge
  • Coles Phillips Coles Phillips
  • Norman Rockwell Norman Rockwell
  • Alex Ross (Nelson Alexander Ross) Alex Ross (Nelson Alexander Ross)
  • Haddon Sundblom Haddon Sundblom
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
  • The Decade 1930-1940 The Decade 1930-1940
  • The Decade 1940-1950 The Decade 1940-1950

Support the Project

We need your help to keep this project alive and growing. How can you help?

Submit Work
Make A Donation
About The Project

Stay Informed

Join our mailing list to receive updates about this growing project.

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

This project is supported in part by an award
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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

©Copyright 2020 Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA 01262 | 413.298.4100
Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions |
Equity & Justice Commitment