Arthur Sinclair Covey (1877–1960) was an American

muralist A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

whose paintings depicted industrial workers doing their jobs.

Personal life

Covey was born in

Leroy, Illinois LeRoy Township is one of nine townships in Boone County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 485 and it contained 201 housing units. Geography According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which (o ...

on June 13, 1877 and was married to Mary Dorothea Sale from 1908 until her death in 1917. In 1921, Covey married the artist and children's book writer

Lois Lenski Lois Lenore Lenski Covey (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974) was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature. Beginning in 1927 with her first books, ''Skipping Village'' and ''Jack Horner's Pie: ...

(1893–1974). Covey and Lenski remained married until his death in 1960.Lenski, Lois. ''Journey into Childhood, the Autobiography of Lois Lenski''. 1972. J.B. Lippincott. Covey's daughter from his first marriage Margaret Covey Chisholm was also a painter and muralist.McGlauflin, ed., ‘’Who’s Who in American Art 1938-1939” vol.2, The American Federation of Arts, Washington D.C., 1937

Education

Covey attended Southwestern College and studied for three years at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

, where he graduated in 1899. He later taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. At the age of 16, Covey participated in the

Cherokee Strip Land Run The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

in Oklahoma on September 16, 1893. During his subsequent career as an artist, one of his frequently-reproduced drawings (from 1953) depicted this Cherokee Strip Run.

Works

His works include a 1927 series of images of workers at industries in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

which were first exhibited in display windows of a Toledo department store,

Lasalle & Koch Lasalle & Koch Co. or Lasalle's was a department store in Toledo, Ohio, with branches in some nearby communities. History Lasalle's traces its beginnings to a store opened in 1865 by Jacob Lasalle and Joseph Epstein, at 51 Summit Street. In 188 ...

and seven murals showing foundry workers for the

Kohler Company Kohler Co., founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, is an American manufacturing company based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and g ...

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan, Wisconsin, ...

. He was commissioned in 1936 by the

Section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

to paint a mural in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

and another in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills (Connecticut), Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the ...

. The papers and much of the artwork of Arthur Covey, dating from 1882 to 1960, are stored in a collection at the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. In 1929, Covey was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

as an Associate Academician, and became a full Academician in 1934.

Death

Arthur Covey died in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,484 at the 2010 census. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal po ...

on February 5, 1960.

References

External links

* 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters 1877 births 1960 deaths American muralists Painters from Illinois Southwestern College (Kansas) alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty National Academy of Design members Section of Painting and Sculpture artists Federal Art Project artists 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1870s-stub