In spite of the fact that I’ve featured him twice just in the past two weeks, I’ll continue my tradition of ringing out the old year and bringing in the new with a couple of New Year’s babies from J.C. Leyendecker, the American illustrator who started the practice of representing the new year as a baby (or, initially in his case, as a winged cherub) on the covers of the Saturday Evening Post.
I don’t have an enlargement of the New Year 1911 SEP cover (December 1910, above, top left), in which the baby new year greets not the old year, but Father Time.
However, courtesy of Scott Anderson and his generous post here, we have a nice set of images of the original art from Leyendecker’s SEP cover ushering in 1926 (a year in which tax laws were changed and some tax rates reduced).
Another good excuse to display more of Leyendecker’s bravura brushwork.
Here is the Saturday Evening Post’s collection of their Leyendecker baby covers, and page 2.
For more on Leyendecker starting the tradition of representing the new year as a baby, see my post from 2006. I’ve listed links to my other Leyendecker posts, many of which have additional links and resources, below.
I hope you all have a terrific new year, filled with great art, old and new!
-Charley
Happy New Year Charley. Thanks for another wonderful year of informative, inspirational posts.
Thanks, Larry. Same to you!
Other readers should check out Larry Roibal’s amazing Year in Review collection of his sketches of news makers – sketched on the news they made.
Hey, Charley! I knew you’d come through with some vintage Leyendecker New Year baby images. The Best to you in the New year, and I look forward to more great posts in 2011.
Another year down and a bit closer to the dreaded 2010!
Hi. HaPPY NEW YEAR.have a great year ahead
I don’t know how you do it all Charlie but I do know is is always great to visit your site. I have discovered and rediscovered so much great art, artists and resources through your posts…
My only quandary is you add so much I am having trouble (still) trying to ‘go back’ through all your previous posts, before I found Lines and Colors.
Happy New Year!
Great post! Thanks!
Beautiful, thank you. Makes me wistful for the “old” days. I’m old enough to remember when the NY Times had tons of great illustrations, when there were real brush to paper (vs. keyboard to screen) illustrators.
I’m a graphic designer/”illustrator” and so glad I did my learning pre-computers. Something magic about the eye hand paper process.
I absolutely love these — Happy New Year!