J. C. Leyendecker Books

This book contains tons of great full colour reproductions of Leyendeckers posters. Norman Rockwell called Leyendecker the greatest illustrator alive at the time and it is easy to see why. I wish there was more published about this gifted illustrator! Great for aspiring artists like myself. This guy knows his stuff!

I do share the opinion that J C Leyendecker is a great american illustrator and deserves the same fame Norman Rockwell has today - Perhaps because his work has never or scarcely been reprinted in a complete review of his contribution to american Illustration

Useful mainly for the reproductions of the more popular drawings for those wanting prints to frame, this is now the only Leyendecker title in print. The Schau 1974 book, long out of print, is far better with more illustrations, although not as glossy. The book ignores the fact that JCL was gay and offers few of the many gay drawings and ads he did.

What can I say! This is a book about one of the times biggest geniuses. I knew about Rockwell, but little about Leyendecker. This book gives you a small insight about leyendecker`s life and art. You have a few amazing scetches, and selected illustrations. And a small bibliografy of the artist, family and friends. Although there is much information you don`t get, and you may find it dissappointing It`s lacking in indepth research. Or maybe an possible edit from the publisher of the book!

This book establishes J. C. Leyendecker as one of the great & important, but now often overlooked, illustrators of the early 20th century. He was one of the most popular magazine & advertising artists of his time.

Leyendecker's subjects are people, all with strong character & expression, painted in exquisite detail. There are ancient warriors, magnificent football players & businessmen in fine suits portrayed as modern heroes of the 1920's.

The authors do an excellent job of profiling this very private man, explaining the development of his style and career. His working technique using many preliminary studies leading to a perfect finished painting is shown.

There are 16 full-page single sided plates showcasing a wide variety of Leyendeckers's finest work. They are printed in beautiful color on heavy stock and would look great framed. I really enjoyed learning about this great artist.

You might not know his name but if you've ever seen the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, then you've probably seen at least on of his unforgettable images. Back in the hey day of commercial illustration Leyendecker was a celebrity. He practically created the look so associated with such publications. His dapper, muscular men and angelic women graced magazine covers and countless advertisements. His Arrow shirt man, based on the likeness of his live-in lover, was a star all his own. Whether it was his annual New years babies, homoerotic portryals of masculinity, or Norman Rockwellian vignettes Leyendecker made his art look easy. Unfortunately, there is little available on his interesting life and artistry. This book is a wonderful showcase of his work, featuring oversized prints all ready for framing. He is an artist that should be known, remembered and honored. And if you're really a fan, keep your eye out for a very rare book on Leyendecker that I have only seen in auction.

I just received my copy, and even though I paid too much for it through Bud Plant, I am completely happy with this book.

It was interesting to find out that Leyendecker was one of Norman Rockwell's self-proclaimed idols. Rockwell modeled his work on that of the now little-known J.C. Leyendecker.

It is also fascinating to learn that the strong handsome men that Leyendecker portrayed were modeled after his gay lover, Charles Beech. Today, Leyendecker's painting are highly sought after in the gay community.

It is ironic that a whole generation of Americans looked at a gay man as a model of youthful strength and good looks. When will we recognize the contributions of gays and lesbians to our society? Without them, our world would be in black and white, rather in color.

The "Leyendecker look" was that of a handsome, sophisticated, young man of the roaring twenties. Many of the men looked like our vision of the "Great Gatsby."

Many of the illustrations were for "Arrow Shirts" and were the first examples of brand advertising.

Having never encountered Leyendecker's work, I was pleasantly surprised at my discovery.

This is a wonderful collection of J.C.Leyendecker's artwork and a must own for illustrators and lovers of Leyendecker's art. It's quite worth the asking price. My only complaint about the artwork shown, is that so much of the Saturday Evening Post covers are just too small to appreciate like they should be, however, that's understandable as if they were four per page, then that would be one huge book.

But the real reason I have a disappointement with the book is in the writing. That's why I didn't give it the full five stars the artwork alone deserves. If the authors could have only left their personal beliefs about Leyendecker's life out of the writing and focused on the historical facts. (To the author's, while I'm sure you believe that the "facts" you presented are facts to you, because you believe them, that simply doesn't make them facts to everyone else, whether you think it should be or not.) It's a shame when authors writing biographies place their own interpretations of another person's life down as fact. And that's what more or less detracts from the whole experience of the book.

Other than that, kudos to well put together archive of Leyendecker artwork.

Having waited for YEARS for a good book on Leyendecker, the wait is over. We not only have one but two. I am very happy with this product. The reproductions are very good. While the book does catalog all of the artists covers (SEP, Colliers, etc), the result is well done. Typically, there are nine covers on one page and on the facing page is a repo of the actual artwork from one of the covers. I think almost all of the full page images reproduced are from original artwork, and not reproductions of magazine covers. Very nice. Sure... it would be great to have all of the covers shown in full page glorious color, but we dont and we wont. It still deserves five stars. There are many "sketches" in oil shown that were created as studies, many of which are stunning in and of themselves. Also shown are advertising illustrations. Great!
Regarding the text, move on if your are looking for detail on the artist life. There is really nothing new here. There has always been little know about the artist and his boyfriend. Leyendecker was a profoundly private person, the result of which is that there is little personal information available. What is written is interesting, but of minor interest. Who is buying this book for the text? Please.
It will be interesting to compare the two books. But as it now stands, this one is easily worth the price and five stars!