William Haskell Coffin (October 21, 1878 – May 12, 1941) was a painter and commercial artist who flourished in the early decades of the twentieth century. His work appeared on the cover of leading magazines in the United States and on posters that the US government commissioned.

Biography

Coffin was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 21, 1878, the son of Julia (Haskell) and George Mathewes Coffin. When he was young, his family moved to Washington, D.C, where he attended the

Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...

. After a brief stint back in Charleston, where he painted portraits of society ladies, he went to France in 1902 to complete his training as an artist. Coffin specialized in images of women, which were reproduced on the covers of popular magazines such as ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'', ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded '' Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904) ...

'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-compris ...

'', ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

'', '' Leslie's Illustrated'', and the ''

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...

''. He was one of the most highly paid illustrators of his era. Coffin was married twice. His second wife was actress

Frances Starr Frances Grant Starr (June 6, 1881 – June 11, 1973) was an American stage, film and television actress. Early years Starr's parents were Charles Edward Starr and Emma (''née'' Grant). She had two half sisters, and her father died when s ...

; they eventually divorced. Coffin was being treated for depression in an institution in St. Petersburg, Florida when he leaped from a third-story window and died on May 12, 1941. Image:Joan of Arc WWI lithograph2.jpg, World War I era poster Image:SaturdayEveningPost17Apr1915.jpg, ''Saturday Evening Post'' cover, April 17, 1915

References

20th-century American painters American male painters 1941 suicides 1878 births Suicides in Florida Painters who committed suicide Suicides by jumping in the United States 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1870s-stub