The Supplement: Joseph Christian Leyendecker

Camp, inescapably homoerotic, and really rather wonderful, I share with you the work of Joseph Christian Leyendecker.

"Born in Germany, Leyendecker and his family moved to America in 1882. He attended the Chicago Art Institute and, along with his younger brother Frank, was enrolled in the Academie Julian in Paris. The brothers returned to Chicago in 1899 and set up their studio on South Michigan Ave. Joe soon received his first commission for a Saturday Evening Post cover, and would later produce 322 covers for the magazine. Leyendecker also did covers for Collier's Magazine, and by 1900 had moved with his brother and sister to New York City to begin an enormously successful career as a commercial artist and illustrator. His client list included Kuppenheimer Suits, Interwoven Socks, Kellogg's and, most notably, Arrow shirt collars. The Arrow Collar Man-a male answer to the Gibson Girl-came to define the fashionable American male during the early decades of the twentieth century. For the illustrations Leyendecker often used his favorite model Charles Beach (1886–1952) who later became his manager and lived with him until the end of his days. Leyendecker preceded Norman Rockwell, who was hugely influenced by the illustrator, particularly early on in his career. The two became good friends and remained so throughout their lives. Through Leyendecker's work for the Saturday Evening Post, he created lasting cultural images for the early half of the 20th Century in America. The mainstream image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red fur-trimmed coat was popularized by Leyendecker... Leyendecker's defined, highly structured-even sculptural-style influenced that of the character designs of Disney's "Pocahontas" (animator Glen Keane, among others, is a long time admirer of J. C. Leyendecker's works), as well as the video games Team Fortress 2 and The Dagger of Amon Ra."

This is an extract from Jennifer G. Oliver's article at Art Character & Creature Design - go here for the complete text, which includes Leyendecker talking about his creative methodology.

For more of Leyendecker's work, go here, and here.