Dean Cornwell (1892-1960)
Dean Cornwell was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1892. Cornwell’s parents encouraged his drawing and his mother taught him to observe and appreciate nature, which was later reflected in his illustrations of natural history. As a child, poor vision almost ended his dreams of a career in art, but once he was fitted with glasses his vision improved enough to keep drawing. He was given art lessons and soon had his first drawing published on the children’s page of The Courier Journal. One of his first jobs was drawing cartoons of visiting musical shows for The Louisville Herald, where he was eventually offered a full time position.
In 1911, Cornwell moved to Chicago and attended classes at the Chicago Art Institute. He earned money by doing newspaper work and by painting scenery for window displays. Later, he was hired as a staff artist and illustrator for the Sunday feature page at the Chicago Tribune. Soon, Cornwell was promoted to top newspaper illustrator. His first magazine commission came when the editor at Redbook Magazine gave him three illustrations slots for the November 1914 issue.
In 1915, Dean Cornwell moved to New York and enrolled in the Art Student’s League. Here he met Harvey Dunn, who invited him to participate in a summer school course that he and Charles Chapman were conducting in Leonia, New Jersey. Dunn’s summer course taught the basic principles and beliefs of Howard Pyle, who founded the Brandywine School of Illustration and inspired students with idealism and a sense of mission for their artwork. During this summer, Cornwell absorbed Dunn’s philosophy of painting and studied the effects of light on form and tonal values. He would use these lighting techniques in his future work. Upon returning to New York, Dean Cornwell began to receive regular commissions for Redbook short stories and Saturday Evening Post.
In 1919 and 1921, Cornwell won first prize for his illustrations of the Wilmington Society of Fine Arts. In 1922, he won the Chicago Art Institute’s Award of Merit and was elected president of the Society of Illustrators. During the 1920’s, his style evolved and he began to work in a more dynamic, less atmospheric style, which earned him the reputation as “Dean of Illustrators.” In 1929, Cornwell signed a contract with Hearst Publications which set out generous rates for his work. However, at the height of his fame as an illustrator, Cornwell wanted to expand his artistic creation and found mural painting. He painted murals for the Los Angeles Public Library, the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, California, Raleigh Room of the Warwick Hotel in New York City and for the General Motors exhibition at the New York World’s Fair. He also traveled to London to complete the murals in Brangwyn’s studio and worked on them there for three years. Over his career he painted historic murals in over 20 public buildings across the United States.
Dean Cornwell was celebrated and well-known during his lifetime. His paintings have been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Chicago Art Institute, the Pratt Institute, the Art Center of New York City, and the National Academy of Design. Cornwell was an illustrator who tried to find a meaningful role in a world constantly changing with technology. In 1960, Cornwell ruptured a main artery and died. He was 68 years old.
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