Haddon Hubbard Sundblom
Clown and the Girl
1928

About the Item

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned Advertisement for Cream of Wheat cereal. Image of clown and girl. Haddon Hubbard Sundblom dominated the art field in Chicago beginning in the ‘twenties when he formed a studio partnership with Howard Stevens and Edwin Henry. The studio, under great artistic direction and influence of Sundblom, attracted a great number of young artists who later, as alumni of the “Sundblom circle,” went on to become name illustrators in their own right. Among those included in his book are Harry Anderson, Earl Blossom, Matt Clark, Edwin Henry, Walter Richards, James Schucker, Thornton Utz and Coby Whitmore. Sundblom acknowledged the influence on his own style of many painters, including John Singer Sargent, but primarily Anders Zorn. As amalgamated by Sundblom, it was a brilliant and colorful technique, combined with his own good taste and joie de vivre. These qualities kept his work in steady command for nearly forty years for both magazine stories and advertising campaigns which won for him many medals and citations. His style became a hallmark for advertisers, such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Palmolive, Peet & Company and Maxwell House Coffee. For over twenty years, Sundblom painted an annual Santa Claus subject for Coca-Cola; its prominence on the back cover of many national magazines made it a famous feature, Sundblom used himself as the model in the later years. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Sundblom left school to work at the age of thirteen when his mother died. For many years, he attended school at night or took correspondence courses to complete his education. He also studied for four years at the Chicago Art Institute and for three-and-a-half years at the American Academy of Art. His art apprenticeship was served at the Charles Everett Johnson Studio in Chicago, and in 1925, the partnership of Stevens, Sundblom and Henry was launched. In 1987, Sundblom was elected into the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame.

Creator:
Haddon Hubbard Sundblom (1899 - 1976, American)
Creation Year:
1928
Dimensions:
Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
Medium:
Oil,Canvas
Period:
1920-1929
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Fort Washington, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3843987013
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