The Art of Harry Anderson is the next in the lavish series of hardcover monographs from The Illustrated Press, the small company that previously produced the books on Tom Lovell, Jon Whitcomb, and Dean Cornwell.
Born in 1906, Harry Anderson is best known as for his magazine illustrations of children and romantic situations, probably the hardest subjects to pull off successfully.
He was always a resourceful colorist. Look how the painting above is restricted almost entirely to blue-green, red-violet, and yellow ochre.
Although I haven't actually held the book in my hands yet, it will start off with a short biography, but the bulk of the pages will be devoted to big, beautiful color illustrations — 300 of them in the 224 page hardbound book. I wish all art books gave so much space to art.
There are representative examples from all the categories of art he was engaged in: editorial, advertising, calendar, religious, and gallery art.
There are representative examples from all the categories of art he was engaged in: editorial, advertising, calendar, religious, and gallery art.
Much of the art in the book is reproduced from originals, but some is printed from vintage tearsheets. I like seeing those too because it gives a sense of the graphic presentation in the magazine layouts, so characteristic of the time.
The standard edition is $44.95 USD, and there's also a special edition for $64.95 that comes in a custom slipcase and is limited to 100 copies. Both editions are hardbound, 12 x 9 inches.
You'll never see these books at Barnes and Noble or a museum bookstore, because it just doesn't pay for small publishers like the Illustrated Press to deal with brick-and-mortar retail accounts or to warehouse an overly large printing. The earlier books, The Art of Jon Whitcomb and Tom Lovell—Illustrator books have sold out, and are only available on the secondary market at much higher prices. The Dean Cornwell book was brought back into print by popular demand and is still available.
You can preview the entire book online and preorder the book now at Illustrated Press. Shipping is expected to take place in March of 2018.
