The Private Life and Public Influence of J. C. Leyendecker

J. C. Leyendecker (Joseph Christian Leyendecker, (1874-1951) was born in Montabaur, Germany in 1874, and moved to Chicago in 1882 when he was 8 years old.  He had two younger siblings, Frank and Augusta.

After studying drawing and anatomy under John H. Vanderpoel at the Chicago Art Institute, J. C. and younger brother Frank enrolled in the Académie Julian in Paris for a year. The Leyendecker brothers were influenced by the works of Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret, and Alphonse Mucha. His talent was recognized and appreciated early in his career.  He won 4 awards for his paintings at exhibits in Paris.

They both returned to Chicago and set up shop and worked there until 1902, when they moved to New York and later to New Rochelle where they built a large mansion with two art studios.  Their sister joined them in this house.

J. C. Leyendecker was quite prolific and extremely well known for his paintings and illustrations featured in:

• Saturday Evening Post covers, (322), the most by any artist.
• Covers for Colliers (80).
• Kellogg’s Kids advertisements, (20). Haggin museum owns 14 of these.
• Interwoven socks advertisements, (undetermined number)
• Arrow Collar Man Advertisements, (undetermined number)

The Leyendecker illustration style was unique for the early twentieth century and particularly suited to print advertising.

He used a crosshatch method of working in oil paint that gave the speed of pencil and the visual impact of color.

Arrow Collar advertisement by J. C. Leyendecker 1912

This painting is from 1907 and below is an Arrow Collar Man advertisement from 1912.

The inspiration for the Arrow Collar Man was Charles Beach, Leyendecker’s main model, muse, and live-in lover. Some say he, “enjoyed the irony of painting Charles as a prototype of the classic all-American male.” He lived a very private life so this is speculation. However the fact that Charles lived with  in NY and inherited part of J.C.’s estate seems to indicate he was quite important to J.C.  At that time, being gay was not acceptable and often punished harshly so survival required the relationship remain hidden.

This Arrow Collar man painting in 1925 shows the cross-hatching technique clearly.  (you may have to enlarge it or google it to see this.)

Connecting Norman Rockwell and J. C. Leyendecker

He inspired Rockwell greatly and one can see the influence of Leyendecker in Rockwell’s work.

Illustration of couple descending a staircase by J. C. Leyendecker

Rockwell was a great admirer;  he later wrote:

“I thought of all the times I’d followed him about town just to see how he acted. And how I’d asked the models what Mr. Leyendecker did when he was painting. Did he stand up or sit down? Did he talk to the model? What kind of brushes did he use? Did he use Winsor & Newton paints?”

Observing similarities between the Illustrators

Similarities between Leyendecker and Rockwell are most clear in these two paintings.  Can you tell which is which?   Leyendecker exaggerates the size of men’s hand’s and feet and builds males with a particular “swagger” while women are softer, curvy and long necked.  Because they both painted for the Post, it can be easy to mix them up until you become familiar with Leyendecker’s style, models and technique.  In fact, Rockwell even used a few of the same models.  The one on the left was done in 1920.  The one on the right was done in 1946.  (Answer, Leyendecker is on the left)

Leyendecker illustration that may have inspired Norman Rockwell

Illustration of a man reading in a window by Norman Rockwell

The Personal Life of J. C. Leyendecker

Few accurate biographies exist on Leyendecker.  Most authors are somewhat frustrated by the privacy he maintained.  Separating fact from gossip about his life appears difficult. Despite his successes and significant influence on society, there have been only two books about him. Michael Schau published an art book in 1974, but it is known to contain many inaccuracies.   Laurence and Judy Cutler published  J.C. Leyendecker: American Imagist in 2008 association with the National Museum of American Illustration.

J.C. Leyendecker died in 1951 of heart failure at his home in New Rochelle. Rockwell writes in his memoir that Leyendecker, toward the end of his life, said: “I guess if I had to live it all over again, I might have done it differently.”  But what a loss if he had.

Collier’s cover by J. C. Leyendecker

Places to read more and see his paintings:

https://hagginmuseum.org/