Courtney Allen

One of the reason I love ducking into antique stores is that you never know what you are going to find.

My introduction to art was primarily though the illustrators of the golden age through my wife's family of artists as I wrote about here.  Inspiration better late than never

I came across this illustration study for a dust jacket by Courtney Allen a couple of weeks ago and I picked it up earlier today..

This painting was a preliminary study for the book cover for the book "Gold Mountain" by Charlotte Paul issued by the Peoples Book Club of Chicago in 1953.

It's roughly 9" x 12" and appears to be ink and watercolor/gouache.  Historical interest aside, I love the freedom and confidence of the execution of this painting.  One of the things that I enjoy about these types of paintings is that you can see the artists thought process.  How the eye is led into the center of interst - the figures disembarking in search of gold and , perhaps, a little romance.

I look forward to finding the original / finished dust jacket to examine the differences between these initial paintings and the final "product."  

Courtney Allen was a contemporary of my wife's great uncle (Charles La Salle) and the two most likely knew one another professionally as well as personally.  They were both friends and colleagues of the top illustrators in the country including Norman Rockwell.  They both lived and had studios in New Rochelle in the early 20's and worked for the major magazines of the day including Cosmopolitan, Colliers, The Saturday Evening Post, This Week, and True magazines to name a few.

I look forward to learning more about Courtney Allen and his life and career.