""The governor was speaking now...""   Lot no. 4679

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Literature: V. Delmar, "A Matter of Honor," Cosmopolitan, November 1942, pp. 20-21, illustrated.

The present work was reproduced as an illustration for Vina Delmar's novelette "A Matter of Honor," published in the November 1942 issue of Cosmopolitan. The story follows young Joseph, who discovers that his father is an infamous criminal and becomes fearful that the stain on his family's name will deter his love interest from marrying him. After he returns home as a war hero, during the community's homecoming celebration in his honor, he realizes that perhaps the only great quality he inherited from his father is his fearlessness and that this is perhaps a good enough reason for his love to marry him. The present moment captures Joseph deep in thought as the governor speaks his praises: "The governor was speaking now. He had been speaking forever, it seemed. Joseph had not been listening. He caught sentences now and then." (V. Delmar, "A Matter of Honor," Cosmopolitan, November 1942, p. 120)

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See all original artwork by Dean Cornwell

ABOUT THE ARTIST

            Dean Cornwell was a brilliant left-handed painter who dominated the illustration field for many years. As a student of Harvey Dunn, he inherited much of the teachings of Howard Pyle and later studied under Frank Brangwyn, the British muralist. To these influences Cornwell added his own monumental style, both intricate and bold.

 

            Cornwell was an untiring worker who made a great many preliminary studies and trial compositions before attempting a final painting in oils. These drawings have great interest by themselves for the beauty of their draftsmanship. 

 

            Prolific and in great demand, he illustrated for a wide variety of magazines and advertisers, but found time as well to paint many important murals. Notable among them were those for the Los Angeles Public Library. The General Motors mural at the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York. The Tennessee State Office Building, the Eastern Airlines building in Rockefeller Center, and the Raleigh Room at the Hotel Warwick in New York City.

 

            Dean was president of the Society of Illustrators from 1922-1926 and was elected to its Hall of Fame in 1959. He taught illustration at the Art Students League in New York, and by example created a "Cornwell School."