Al Parker (artist): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American artist and illustrator}} |
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[[File:Alparker.jpg|right|thumb|Al Parker in 1952]] |
[[File:Alparker.jpg|right|thumb|Al Parker in 1952]] |
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[[File:Ladies' Home Journal, March 1948 - Cover art by Al Parker.jpg|thumb|Ladies' Home Journal, March 1948. Cover by Al Parker]] |
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'''Al Parker''' (1906–1985) was an American [[artist]] and [[illustrator]] |
'''Al Parker''' (1906–1985) was an American [[artist]] and [[illustrator]]. |
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Parker's display of talent as a teenager led his grandfather, a [[Mississippi River Pilot]], to pay for Al's first year in [[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]]'s School of Fine Arts in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] in 1922. He also played in a [[jazz band]] to earn money for tuition. He married a fellow student, Evelyn, and later joined with several former classmates to open an [[advertising agency]] in St. Louis. The business did not do well during the [[Great Depression]], and Parker moved to [[New York City]] in 1935.<ref>[ |
Parker's display of talent as a teenager led his grandfather, a [[Mississippi River Pilot]], to pay for Al's first year in [[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]]'s [[St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts|School of Fine Arts]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] in 1922. He also played saxophone in a [[jazz band]] on a river boat to earn money for tuition. He participated in many combination jam-sessions-and-sketching-trips to service hospitals during World War II. He married a fellow student, Evelyn, and later joined with several former classmates to open an [[advertising agency]] in St. Louis. The business did not do well during the [[Great Depression]], and Parker moved to [[New York City]] in 1935.<ref>[https://library.wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2007fall.pdf Off the Shelf]</ref> |
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Parker got a break when a cover illustration he did for ''[[House Beautiful]]'' won a national competition. He soon was producing illustrations for ''[[Chatelaine (magazine)|Chatelaine]]'', ''[[Collier's Weekly|Collier's]]'', ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' and ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]''. Starting in 1938, he produced a total of 50 covers over a 13-year period for the ''Ladies' Home Journal''. He also sold illustrations to ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'', ''[[Good Housekeeping]]'', ''[[McCall's]]'', ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', ''[[Town & Country (magazine)|Town and Country]]'' and ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]''. |
Parker got a break when a cover illustration he did for ''[[House Beautiful]]'' won a national competition. He soon was producing illustrations for ''[[Chatelaine (magazine)|Chatelaine]]'', ''[[Collier's Weekly|Collier's]]'', ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' and ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]''. Starting in 1938, he produced a total of 50 covers over a 13-year period for the ''Ladies' Home Journal''. He also sold illustrations to ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'', ''[[Good Housekeeping]]'', ''[[McCall's]]'', ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', ''[[Town & Country (magazine)|Town and Country]]'' and ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]''. |
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Parker later became part of the [[New Rochelle artist colony|art colony]] in suburban [[New Rochelle, New York]], which was well known for its unprecedented number of prominent American illustrators <ref>[http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa364a.htm Toast of the Town: Norman Rockwell and the Artists of New Rochelle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519230823/http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa364a.htm |date=2011-05-19 }}</ref> (more than fifty percent of the illustrations in the country’s leading publications were done by artists from New Rochelle).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newrochellearts.org/content.php?nID=2&cID=4 |title=New Rochelle - Arts City |access-date=2012-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026020904/http://www.newrochellearts.org/content.php?nID=2&cID=4 |archive-date=2014-10-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Parker is credited with creating a new school of illustration and was much imitated. In an effort to distinguish himself from his imitators, he worked in a variety of styles, themes and media. In cooperation with the magazine's art director, he secretly provided every illustration in an issue of ''Cosmopolitan'', using different pseudonyms, styles and mediums for each story. |
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| ⚫ | Parker is credited with creating a new school of illustration and was much imitated. In an effort to distinguish himself from his imitators, he worked in a variety of styles, themes and media. Examples range from children's crayons to acrylics. In cooperation with the magazine's art director, he secretly provided every illustration in an issue of ''Cosmopolitan'', using different pseudonyms, styles and mediums for each story. |
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| ⚫ | Parker was one of the founding faculty members for the [[Famous Artists School]]. He was elected to the [[Society of Illustrators]]' Hall of Fame in 1965. A [[postage stamp|stamp]] commemorating his art was issued by the [[United States Postal Service]] on February 1, 2001 as part of the American Illustrators Issue series.<ref> |
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Over the years, he won more than twenty-five gold medals and awards of excellence in Art Directors Club and Society of Illustrators' shows. He was also a past president of the Westport Artists.<ref>The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000 by Walt Reed</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | Parker was one of the founding faculty members for the [[Famous Artists School]]. He was elected to the [[Society of Illustrators]]' Hall of Fame in 1965. A [[postage stamp|stamp]] commemorating his art was issued by the [[United States Postal Service]] on February 1, 2001 as part of the American Illustrators Issue series.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.harmonydesigns.com/product/detail.php?catalogNumber=3502Parker |title=American Illustrators Issue stamp |access-date=2006-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507165000/http://www.harmonydesigns.com/product/detail.php?catalogNumber=3502Parker |archive-date=2006-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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Parker moved to Carmel, California by 1961, and with the demise of many of the magazines, his output of illustrations was curtailed. He continued to do occasional assignments for publications such as Sports Illustrated and Boys' Life. One such commission was an outstanding series of paintings of the Grand Prix auto race of Europe for Sports Illustrated.<ref>The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000 by Walt Reed</ref> |
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| ⚫ | His son, Kit Parker, founded the film company, Kit Parker Films.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kitparker.com/bio.php |title=Kit Parker Films |access-date=2009-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607011012/http://www.kitparker.com/bio.php |archive-date=2009-06-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://digital.wustl.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=mghl;cc=mghl;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=mghl00002.xml Al Parker Collection] - retrieved July 31, 2006 |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110721221619/http://digital.wustl.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=mghl;cc=mghl;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=mghl00002.xml Al Parker Collection] - retrieved July 31, 2006 |
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*[http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2003/scout-030411-printable.html#14 Al Parker, American Illustrator] - retrieved July 31, 2006 |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060906082537/http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2003/scout-030411-printable.html#14 Al Parker, American Illustrator] - retrieved July 31, 2006 |
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*[http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/this-is-second-fan-letter-of-my-long.html Fan letter] to Parker from [[Norman Rockwell]] |
*[http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/this-is-second-fan-letter-of-my-long.html Fan letter] to Parker from [[Norman Rockwell]] |
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*[http://www.auadpublishing.com/ Al Parker, Illustrator, Innovator], THE reference book from Auad Publishing, 2014. |
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*[http://www.google.com/m/url?ei=-kWsTeCYF4XGM5W_ocUB&q=http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa364a.htm&ved=0CBkQFjAH&usg=AFQjCNFR5kHUHoGtQA5I6HiS2U3zd1xOpw |
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{{commonscat|Al Parker}} |
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"Toast of the Town: Norman Rockwell and the Artists of New Rochelle"] |
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{{Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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{{Authority control}} |
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| NAME = Parker, Al |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = |
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| DATE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Al}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Al}} |
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[[Category:American illustrators]] |
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[[Category:American magazine illustrators]] |
[[Category:American magazine illustrators]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Artists from New Rochelle, New York]] |
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[[Category:1906 births]] |
[[Category:1906 births]] |
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[[Category:1985 deaths]] |
[[Category:1985 deaths]] |
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Latest revision as of 00:14, 25 December 2021
Al Parker (1906–1985) was an American artist and illustrator.
Parker's display of talent as a teenager led his grandfather, a Mississippi River Pilot, to pay for Al's first year in Washington University's School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, Missouri in 1922. He also played saxophone in a jazz band on a river boat to earn money for tuition. He participated in many combination jam-sessions-and-sketching-trips to service hospitals during World War II. He married a fellow student, Evelyn, and later joined with several former classmates to open an advertising agency in St. Louis. The business did not do well during the Great Depression, and Parker moved to New York City in 1935.[1]
Parker got a break when a cover illustration he did for House Beautiful won a national competition. He soon was producing illustrations for Chatelaine, Collier's, Ladies' Home Journal and Woman's Home Companion. Starting in 1938, he produced a total of 50 covers over a 13-year period for the Ladies' Home Journal. He also sold illustrations to Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, McCall's, The Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, Town and Country and Vogue.
Parker later became part of the art colony in suburban New Rochelle, New York, which was well known for its unprecedented number of prominent American illustrators [2] (more than fifty percent of the illustrations in the country’s leading publications were done by artists from New Rochelle).[3]
Parker is credited with creating a new school of illustration and was much imitated. In an effort to distinguish himself from his imitators, he worked in a variety of styles, themes and media. Examples range from children's crayons to acrylics. In cooperation with the magazine's art director, he secretly provided every illustration in an issue of Cosmopolitan, using different pseudonyms, styles and mediums for each story.
Over the years, he won more than twenty-five gold medals and awards of excellence in Art Directors Club and Society of Illustrators' shows. He was also a past president of the Westport Artists.[4]
Parker was one of the founding faculty members for the Famous Artists School. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame in 1965. A stamp commemorating his art was issued by the United States Postal Service on February 1, 2001 as part of the American Illustrators Issue series.[5]
Parker moved to Carmel, California by 1961, and with the demise of many of the magazines, his output of illustrations was curtailed. He continued to do occasional assignments for publications such as Sports Illustrated and Boys' Life. One such commission was an outstanding series of paintings of the Grand Prix auto race of Europe for Sports Illustrated.[6]
His son, Kit Parker, founded the film company, Kit Parker Films.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Off the Shelf
- ^ Toast of the Town: Norman Rockwell and the Artists of New Rochelle Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New Rochelle - Arts City". Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
- ^ The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000 by Walt Reed
- ^ "American Illustrators Issue stamp". Archived from the original on 2006-05-07. Retrieved 2006-08-01.
- ^ The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000 by Walt Reed
- ^ "Kit Parker Films". Archived from the original on 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
External links
[edit]- Al Parker Collection - retrieved July 31, 2006
- Al Parker, American Illustrator - retrieved July 31, 2006
- Fan letter to Parker from Norman Rockwell
- Al Parker, Illustrator, Innovator, THE reference book from Auad Publishing, 2014.
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