The fourteenth Issue of the marketing portfolio for the Chicago artist group known as the Nine Illustrators, which included an invoice for it's for the brochure printing in 1961, I found in my grandfathers papers, and wondered where his peers ended up, finding most of them with references on the web, some had been extremely prolific in their lifetimes, while some had very little or no content that I was able to find in the search results.
My grandfather, John C. Howard, was one of the later, and Spectarama is my first effort to begin to remedy his notoriety. Although his early death at age 60, in 1965, certainly limited his output, he definitely had a number of high profile clients, and did some really iconic pieces.
I am uncertain of the origin of the Nine Illustrators group. I have only found the 14th issue (so far), but I found on the fishink blog a few of the pages of issue number 9, which has images of the nine men in the group at this time, which included John Howard, but was too blurry for me to positively confirm the identities of the other 7 (the article was on Joseph Pearson) but I didn't see any women in issue 9, and I believe Phoebe Moore to be of the female persuasion. The invoice for issue 14 shows John Howard as the customer, so I'm not sure he was the founder of the group, but by the time issue 14 came around, he was at least responsible for the printing of the brochures.
Follows is some of the content from Nine Illustrators Issue 14:
Too often buyers of art ask, "How is it done?," not "What has it got to say?." Too often their interest has dwelt on technique, style or paint quality, forgetting that a good illustrator is a story teller. Next time you have a story-telling job, call on the the nine experts in this portfolio. He will appreciate the opportunity of using his skills early in the creative process. Don't wait until all you are buying is technique. It is poor business to get half of what you pay for.
In this fourteenth portfolio are examples of the work of nine nationally known illustrators who are as near to you as your telephone.
Franklin McMahon
Studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Institute of Design. Since 1950 has has exhibited seven times at the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1951 received the Renaissance Prize. In 1957 his painting THE RED SKY was selected by the Art Institute to tour museums in France, Germany and Holland. He has received awards from Ohio University, Artists Guild of Chicago, Society of Illustrators, Art Director's Clubs of Chicago and New York, Society of Typographic Arts and others and his work has been invited to exhibitions at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Milwaukee Art Institute, Ravinia Music Festivals and the University of Rochester, New York among others. During the Fall of 1959 he acted as guest instructor at the Institute of Design of The Illinois Institute of Technology.
Rainey Bennett
Painter, illusrator, member of the American Water Color Society, has won 9 major prizes in the past 20 years. He was at one time a student of the late George Grosz and his work is represented in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute or Chicago and the Dallas Museum. He has had one man shows at the Downtown Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. Among his commisions has been watercolor series for Standard Oil of New Jersy, Fortune Magazine, Inland Steel Co., Nelson Rockefeller, and murals at the Museum of Science and Industry and Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett and Co.
Art Institute of Chicago (Rainey Bennett Collection)
Chicago Modern Art (Rainey Bennett)
Everett McNear
Studied painting with Cameron Booth in Minneapolis, etching with Louis Marcoussis in Paris, and painted in Europe for a year. He has had one man painting exhibits in the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts, the Walker Art Center. For Harper's h eillustrated "<amy a Green Isle", for Knopf "The Silver Plume", His advertising illustrations have been used by Credit Union National Association, Marshall Field & Co., Employers Mutuals of Wausau, Standard Oil of Indiana, Illinois Power Company, International Harvester, The Milwaukee Road. He is design consultant to The Art Institute of Chicago. Author of "Young Eye Seeing".
Art Institute of Chicago - Everett C. McNear
Chicago Design Archive - Everett C. McNear
Hiro Fine Art - Everett C. McNear
Phoebe Moore
Chicago art training, mainly Institute of Design. Worked in studios, Esquire & Coronet magazines, more studios and finally freelanced. Winner of Artists Guild Gold Brush Award, Commerical Art Show, 1955; Artist Guild top award, Fine Art Show, 1956; Fashion Group 1st award, New York, for painting in national exisbit 1955. Exhibited work in AIGA, STA, ARTISTS GUILD OF CHICAGO, ART DIRECTORS CLUB OF CHICAGO & NEW YORK and has had work shown in Graphis, Graphis Annual, Gebrauchsgraphik, Modern Publicity, American Artist, the "clipping board" in Adverstising Agency, 1955 and Fortune.
Chicago Design Archive - Phoebe Moore
John Howard
Chicago art training, mainly Institute of Design. Worked in studios, Esquire & Coronet magazines, more studios and finally freelanced. Winner of Artists Guild Gold Brush Award, Commerical Art Show, 1955; Artist Guild top award, Fine Art Show, 1956; Fashion Group 1st award, New York, for painting in national exisbit 1955. Exhibited work in AIGA, STA, ARTISTS GUILD OF CHICAGO, ART DIRECTORS CLUB OF CHICAGO & NEW YORK and has had work shown in Graphis, Graphis Annual, Gebrauchsgraphik, Modern Publicity, American Artist, the "clipping board" in Adverstising Agency, 1955 and Fortune.
James Lentine
A student of Henryy G. Keller of Cleveland, Ohio, he has exhibited and won many awards in Chicago art shows and international water color shows. A painter, lecturer, he has done work for many national advertisers including Chrysler Airtemp, Lions International, the Illinois Central and Milwaukee Roads.
Elmer Jacobs
A widly traveled artist who has studied the American scene first-hand. Winner of ovber forty awards he has also taught and lectured. Paints and exhibits in group and one man shows. Represented in many private collections. Is a member of the Society of Typographic Arts, the Artists Guild of Chicago, and a charter member of the well-known twenty-seven designers.
Chicago Design Archive - Elmer Jacobs
Joseph Pearson
An illustrator who becomes an agency art director is not unusual; but Joe Pearson is the rarer case of an agency art director and designer who set his sights on becoming a freelance illustrator. This unusual background equips him to work well with agency art directors, to understand problems of design, and to develop a disciplined freedom of drawing and idea. Joe was trained at the famous Art Center School in Los Angeles, where students are firmly grounded in the theory and practice of layuout and art direction. After agency and studio experience, he has been for seven years a freelance illustrator. He is a member of the well-known Chicago groups: The Nine Illustrators and 27 Designers. His work is used by agencies, advertisers, printers, and publications throughout the midwest.
Richard Frooman
B.F.A. Art Institute of Chicago. Awarded R aymond Travelling Fellowship, study and travel in Europe, 1953: U.S. Army in Korea and Japan 1953 '55. Painting, illustration in Chicago since 1955. Assignments for Playboy, Lions Interational, Kiwanis International, University of Chicago Press, Vagabond, Fling, Rouge. Paintings and drawings have been showm in many national exhibitions and museum shows including Butler Institute of Art, Pennsylvania Academy, Detroit Institute, Boston Arts Festival. Has received numerous awards. Most recent include Medal Award League Award Art Institute of Chicago 1960 for oil paining, Chicago Society of Artists 1960 First Prize woodcut print. Also represented 28th Art Directors Club of Chicago Exhibit, and Illustrator '61.
Artists Personal Website - Richard Frooman