"The Best People" Lot no. 3091
By Arthur William Brown (American- 1881-1966)
1943
17.25" x 16.00"
Watercolor and Gouache on Board
Signed and Dated Lower Right
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Illustration for story called 'The Best People', published in Redbook magazine, January, 1943, with their job stamp on verso.
Explore related art collections: 1940s / $100 - $5,000 / Magazine Stories / Black & White
See all original artwork by Arthur William Brown
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Arthur William Brown had one of the longest and most prolific careers of any American illustrator. Born in Canada, he landed his first job as a chalk-plate artist on the local Hamilton, Ontario, Spectator at the age of fifteen. After four years of this, he saved enough money to go to New York where he studied at the Art Students League under Walter Appleton Clark.
Brown’s first chance at magazine illustration came when a friend was assigned to write a circus article for The Saturday Evening Post. “Brownie” took a chance that he could make acceptable accompanying drawings and spent six weeks traveling with the circus. The Post was pleased with the result and the published illustrations became the first of a long and popular association which lasted over forty years.
During this time, he had the opportunity to collaborate with many famous authors, including O. Henry, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Booth Tarkington, and Sinclair Lewis. In the early stages of their careers, Frederic March, John Barrymore, and Joan Blondell all posed for him.
Brown was a long-standing active member of the Society of Illustrators. He was its president from 1944 to 1947, and in 1964 was unanimously voted into the Illustrators Hall of Fame.