Albert Wilfred Barbelle (1887–1957) was an American artist known well for his work in advertising, particularly cover art for sheet music of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

. He also illustrated the first Mickey Mouse book.

Early life

Albert Wilfred Barbelle was born on February 15, 1887, in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Wilfred and Marie Barbelle. He was of French Canadian and American descent. Barbelle was one of five children. As a teenager, he began formal art study in Paris and London, and studied traditional and commercial art. In the 1910s, he returned from Europe to attend the Art Student League in New York City. He was contracted as an advertising and sheet music cover artist.William Edwards ("Professor" Bill Edwards) (born William G. Motley; 1959), ''Professor Bills Guide to Ragtime and Old-Time Piano Music: Cover Artist Profiles''
Virginia

Career

From 1912, Barbelle's covers started to be published, and he became a commercial artist and designer for the publishing house,

Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc. was, during the 1920s, one of the largest music publishers of popular sheet music in the country. The firm was based in New York City. What began as the Ted Snyder Company in 1908 evolved into Waterson, Berlin & Sn ...

. By the 1920s, Barbelle became a studio artist. Albert Wilfred Barbelle became involved with music after marrying the composer and pianist, Paula Fuchs. She composed ''Dusting Stars Around the Moon'', and Barbelle provided the cover art. He was an active artist in the community and with the

Staten Island Museum Staten Island Museum (officially the Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences) is Staten Island’s oldest cultural institution, and the only remaining general interest museum in New York City. Founded in 1881 by fourteen of New York City’s ...

in New York City. Barbelle's career as a cover artist spanned for forty-four years.

Personal

Barbelle was married three times. His first marriage in 1920 to a woman named Irene ended in divorce by the mid-1920s. In 1930, he married Franck Barbelle. They soon divorced. His final marriage to Paula Fuchs lasted until his death. Throughout their marriage, they lived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Richmond, New York Richmond is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Abigail Richmond Pitts, an early settler. The town of Richmond is on the western border of the county, south of R ...

. After marrying Fuchs, the couple remained in New York, later moving to Staten Island. After two months of illness, Barbelle died on February 3, 1957, two weeks before his 70th birthday.

Style and works

Barbelle's career spanned over forty years, and had a massive collection of works. Examples of his work include cover art for

Cheer Up, Mother "Cheer Up, Mother" is a World War I era song released in 1918. Mary Earl composed the music and wrote the lyrics. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. of New York, New York published the song. Artist Albert Wilfred Barbelle designed the sheet music cover. I ...

Gee! What a Wonderful Time We'll Have When the Boys Come Home "Gee! What a Wonderful Time We'll Have When the Boys Come Home" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Lyrics and music were written by Mary Earl. The song was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. of New York, New York. It was written for ...

When the Yanks Come Marching Home When may refer to: * When?, one of the Five Ws, questions used in journalism * WHEN (AM), an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in Syracuse, New York * WHEN-TV, the former call letters of TV station WTVH in Syracuse, New York Music * When (b ...

, Welcome Home,

When the Boys from Dixie Eat the Melon on the Rhine When may refer to: * When?, one of the Five Ws, questions used in journalism * WHEN (AM), an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in Syracuse, New York * WHEN-TV, the former call letters of TV station WTVH in Syracuse, New York Music * When (b ...

, and

Big Chief Killahun Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

. His works were very versatile as they included various subjects and styles. While Barbelle's works included enhancing photographic subjects, fantasy creations, and silhouettes, his main subjects were women. Barbelle was very conscious of style, fashion, and color; he kept his works contemporary as possible, and he used more subtle color than his colleagues. Although he used subtle colors, he used the colors to highlight an element in a picture. Today, many libraries, including the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, hold sheet music with his designs. The

holds an oil on canvas entitled ''A Corner of Staten Island''.

References

External links

Sheet music covers at Duke University digital collections.

Sheet music covers in the Clara Thomas Archives at York University.

Albert Barbelle Disney illustrations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbelle, Albert Wilfred Artists from New York (state) 1887 births 1957 deaths Sheet music cover artists People from Fall River, Massachusetts