Howard Chandler Christy

Howard Chandler Christy
Self portrait
Born (1872-01-10)January 10, 1872
Morgan County, Ohio[1]
Died March 3, 1952(1952-03-03) (aged 80)
Hotel des Artistes, #707 1 W. 67th Street, New York, New York
Occupation artist and illustrator
Years active 1890–1952
Notable work Gee I wish I were a Man I'd Join the Navy, Portrait of Dorothy Barton Thomas, Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, The Christy Girl

Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1872 – March 3, 1952)[2] was an American artist and illustrator, famous for the "Christy Girl" – a colorful and illustrious successor to the "Gibson Girl" – who became the most popular portrait painter of the Jazz Age era. Christy painted such luminaries as Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, and Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. Other famous people he painted include William Randolph Hearst, the Prince of Wales (Edward the VIII), Eddie Rickenbacker, Benito Mussolini, Prince Umberto and Amelia Earhart. From the 1920s until the 1940s, Christy was well known for capturing the likenesses of congressmen, senators, industrialists, movies stars, and socialites.

Education and influences

Christy was born in Morgan County and attended early school in Duncan Falls, Ohio.[1] He then studied in New York at the Art Students League from 1890 to 1891 and then at the National Academy under William Merritt Chase, first at Chase's summer retreat at Shinnecock, Long Island, and then at his 10th Street Studio.

Early work

Christy's painting "Halloween", 1915

Christy first attracted attention with his realistic illustrations and several articles as a combat artist during the Spanish–American War that included the Battle of Las Guasimas, the Battle of El Caney and the Battle of San Juan Hill, published in Scribner's, Harper's, and Leslie's Weekly magazines, and in Collier's Weekly. Christy gained especial prominence with the series, "Men of the Army and Navy", and a portrait of Colonel Roosevelt that appeared on the cover of his Rough Riders series published in Scribner's. These illustrations propelled Christy to national prominence. From this, he decided to turn away from war and painting men in uniform. Instead, he yearned for beauty and created the "Christy Girl", redefining the portrayal of women in America through his illustrations and portraits. He captured the modern American woman – tall, confident, elegant, witty and athletic.

He would paint patriotic posters for the US Navy and US Marine Corps. He also came to be known for his illustrations of the works of such as the well-known war correspondent, Richard Harding Davis.

He illustrated books during this period as well.

National recognition

Howard Chandler Christy in his studio

Having made his reputation for his work as a combat artist and in support of America's World War One effort, Christy soon was illustrating for numerous magazine covers. He became famous for the "Christy Girl", a picturesque and romantic type of society women peculiarly his own. His work, whether in watercolor, oils, or pen-and-ink, is characterized by great facility, a dashing but not exaggerated style and a strong sense of values. Together with fellow artists Harrison Fisher and Neysa McMein he constituted the Motion Picture Classic magazine's "Fame and Fortune" contest jury of 1921–22, that discovered the It girl, Clara Bow.[3]

In 1940, he painted the Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, which was installed in the House of Representatives wing in the United States Capitol. Some of his work, newly cleaned, is on display at The Leopard at des Artistes restaurant, the successor to the legendary New York City restaurant Café des Artistes.[4] They include six panels of wood nymphs and paintings such as The Parrot Girl, The Swing Girl, Ponce De Leon, Fall, Spring and the Fountain of Youth.[5]

Another Christy painting has been displayed at the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center. The Zanesville Museum of Art in Zanesville, Ohio, has on permanent display Christy's Portrait of Dorothy Barton Thomas, with other Christy posters, prints and paintings in their collection.

Christy painted the official portrait of First Lady Grace Coolidge (life-size) featuring her white collie Rob Roy, that was hung in the Red Room of the White House.

Personal life

Christy was married twice, both times to women who had modeled for him as one of his "Christy Girls". The first was Maebelle Gertrude Thompson, whom he married on October 15, 1898, shortly after his return from the Spanish–American War. They had a daughter named Natalie Chandler Christy.[6][7] They finally divorced in May 1919, after over ten years of periodic separation and bitter divorce and custody battles.

His second marriage was to Nancy Mae (née Coone) Palmer, a widow who had modeled for him for over eight years prior to their marriage.[1][6]

In the early 1930s, he met Elise Ford who became his model for the murals on Café des Artistes wall. Elise Ford was also Christy's model for the 1941 "I Am An American" poster personifying America "rushing forward to give the touch of the contagion of liberty and democracy to the rest of the world"[8] in the words of then New York Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. Forty years his junior, she became Christy's companion until his death at age 80. They had a daughter named Holly[9] (Holly Christina Longuski née Holly Ford) born in 1939[10] while he was painting Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.

Christy was the uncle of actor Chick Chandler.[11]

Legacy

A novelistic biography of Christy, The Magic of Youth, was published in 2016 by James Philip Head. It is the first book in a projected trilogy titled An Affair with Beauty - The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy.[12][13] Subsequent volumes will be published in 2018 and 2020.[14][15] Romantic Illusions, the second installment in the trilogy which is due for release in the Spring of 2019, will feature a foreword by the foremost portrait painter in America, Everett Raymond Kinstler.[16]

Selected publications

  • Christy, Howard Chandler. The American Girl. New York: Moffat, Yard and Co, 1906. OCLC 732893
  • Christy, Howard Chandler, and E. Stetson Crawford. The Christy Girl. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co, 1906. OCLC 543943

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ohio Born Artist Christy Glorified American Girl". Toledo Blade. Toledo, OH. March 4, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Birth record: "Howard C. Cristy.” (Birth number 1131 of Volume 1, Page 76, of the Birth Records of the Court of Common Pleas of Morgan County, Ohio). The clerk’s misspelling of Howard’s last name was never corrected. Death record: City of New York Department of Health, Death Certificate for Howard Chandler Christy, No. 156-52-1051.77, filed on March 5, 1952.
  3. ↑ Motion Picture Classics, January, 1922.
  4. ↑ Sifton, Sam (2 August 2011). "The Leopard at des Artistes". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  5. ↑ "Welcome to 1 West 67th Street" (PDF). The Leopard at des Artistes. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  6. 1 2 "Is Marriage a Success?". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. September 6, 1920. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Christy Case has Attention Today". The Evening Statesman. Walla Walla, WA. December 17, 1909. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "City Gets Poster for Liberty Rally". New York Times. May 4, 1941. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  9. ↑ Heller, Steven (June 13, 2014). "My Dad, the Famous Painter?". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ Howard Chandler Christy papers, 1873–2001. Lafayette College Special Collections & College Archives, http://sites.lafayette.edu/christypapers/scope-content/
  11. ↑ Follies Beauty Loves Art, Turns Down Chandler, Bridgeport Telegram, April 10, 1925, p. 2
  12. ↑ "'The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy'". Zanesville Times Recorder. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  13. ↑ "Interview with Author James Philip Head by Brenda Larrick WHIZ Radio AM 1240, Zanesville, Ohio". June 17, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  14. ↑ Brunner, Jeryl. "The New Biography, 'An Affair With Beauty', Sheds Light On The Most Famous Painter Of The Jazz Age" Forbes.com, September 30, 2016".
  15. ↑ Hoonstra, J.P. (April 5, 2017). "Howard Chandler Christy Painted Beauty -- And Ugly Cuban War". New York Daily News.
  16. ↑ PRNewswire (August 8, 2018). ""Foremost American Portrait Painter Everett Raymond Kinstler Will Write Foreword on Forthcoming New Book on the Life of Howard Chanlder Christy"". The Business Journals.

Further reading

  • Copley, Helen F. The Christy Quest. Tucson, Ariz: Patrice Press, 1999. ISBN 1880397307 OCLC 41497133
  • Head, James Philip, An Affair with Beauty—The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy: The Magic of Youth. Minneapolis, MN: North Loop Books, 2016. ISBN 1634138821 OCLC 962284740
  • Schneider, Norris Franz. Howard Chandler Christy. Zanesville, Ohio: Schneider, 1975. OCLC 1717378
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