Joseph Christian Leyendecker was one of the most prominent and financially successful freelance commercial artists in the U.S. He was active between 1895 and 1951 producing drawings and paintings for hundreds of posters, books, advertisements, and magazine covers and stories. He is best known for his 80 covers for Collier's Weekly, 322 covers for The Saturday Evening Post, and advertising illustrations for B. Kuppenheimer men's clothing and Arrow brand shirts and detachable collars. He was one of the few known gay artists working in the early-twentieth century U.S.
Leyendecker in 1895
Leyendecker-illustrated ad for Arrow collars and shirts (c. 1930)
Leyendecker in his studio
Leyendecker home on Mount Tom Road in New Rochelle, New York
Collier's was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as Collier's Once a Week, then renamed in 1895 as Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal, shortened in 1905 to Collier's: The National Weekly and eventually to simply Collier's. The magazine ceased publication with the issue dated the week ending January 4, 1957, although a brief, failed attempt was made to revive the Collier's name with a new magazine in 2012.
The cover of the March 18, 1905 issue of Collier's featuring an illustration by Frederic Remington
The cover of the November 29, 1913 edition of Collier's featuring an illustration by Alonzo Myron Kimball
A January 6, 1898 Collier's Weekly advertisement announcing new magazine features, including an increase in pages, more illustrations, new departments, and the beginning of Henry James's novella The Turn of the Screw
Photography by Jimmy Hare on the cover of the March 19, 1898 issue of Collier's Weekly