Just a quick post to give a big thumbs-up review to the new J.C. Leyendecker book. Good biographical information, well-edited, and most importantly, filled with top-notch reproductions of Leyendecker’s work. I’ve been waiting for a book like this for a long time, and it’s gratifying to see that they got it right. Go buy it right now at your local bookstore, or order through your online retailer of choice. Worth every penny.
Now if only we could get similar full-color monographs on Dean Cornwell (yes, I have the Broder-authored book, but there’s too few images in color in that one), Harvey Dunn, and Mead Schaeffer, I’d be content. And while I’m dreaming, books on Al Parker, Coby Whitmore, John Gannam, and Austin Briggs would be nice too. Note to any aspiring illustrators reading this blog: if any of the names I just mentioned are foreign to you, well, you’ve got some homework to do. These are some of the greats and you’ll love their work if you seek it out.
I am googleing the names- as we speak.
to my shame- from the drawing- I thought the subject was MAD MEN…
http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/
so embarrassing…
I looooove the way the shirt is drawn,
and how the same style is embraced in the pants and hand…
is that an oil painting ?
Yes, Leyendecker painted in oils. He had a special recipe for his painting medium that gave the brushstrokes a nice, loose, slippery feel to them.
I was really happy when I saw this book on Amazon, too, but have you read the reviews? I think I’ll buy it anyway for the artwork, but it sounds like the author did a pretty horrible job with everything else.