Frederic Stanley

Santa in the Wind

1921

Signed Lower Right

Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 24.00" x 32.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left

A Salvation Army Santa looks on with a mixture of fatigue and disinterest as a group of children tell him their Christmas gift wish lists in this lighthearted composition by leading American illustrator Leslie Thrasher. This painting was created for the December 20, 1930 issue of Liberty Magazine, for which the artist illustrated covers on a weekly basis for six consecutive years. Thrasher is known for his scenes of everyday American life imbued with a sense of humor, qualities represented to great effect in this charming painting. Born in 1889 in Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager and received a scholarship to study art abroad in Paris. Upon his return, he began studying under Howard Pyle, known as the “father of American illustration.” Thrasher sold his first cover illustration to the Saturday Evening Post in 1912, four years before Norman Rockwell’s first Post cover, and he would go on to produce over 360 magazine covers throughout his career. He painted humorous, relatable scenes of everyday life in America with colorful characters set against white backgrounds. He was also a successful commercial artist, painting advertisements for Cream of Wheat, Chesterfield Cigarettes...

Artist: Emmett Kelly Work: Limited Edition, Print on Satin Paper, Medium: Satin Paper Year: (1898-1979) Style: Classic Art Title: Tis the Season, Size: 9" x 7" x 0.1'' inch, (23 x1 8 x 0.2 cm) Framed: 17'' x1 3.5'' x 1'' inch, (43 x 34x5 cm) Ready to Hang. Biography Artist Emmett Kelly is best known as the creator of Weary Willie, a character who reinvented the typical clown. Kelly left Houston, Missouri, and moved to Kansas City in 1919, carrying little with him except his portfolio of drawings. Emmett Kelly's artwork of Weary Willie features a man with a scruffy beard, torn denim overalls, regular hat, and somber face. In 1937, Kelly joined the Bertram Mills Circus where Weary Willie made his debut and was well received. The success of artist Emmett Kelly's Weary Willie portrayal garnered him movie roles, figurines based on his likeness, and a spot with Ringling Brothers' Barnum and Bailey...