Isaac Morgan (June 28, 1871 – September 13, 1913) was a well-known newspaper

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

for several big newspapers in Chicago and New York.

Biography

Morgan was labeled "well-educated" by newspaper colleagues. He was fluent in Latin and an aficionado for the theater. He was born in Grand Tower, Illinois, and grew up in St. Louis, where he graduated from the

St. Louis School of Fine Arts The St. Louis School of Fine Arts was founded as the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts in 1879 as part of Washington University in St. Louis, and has continuously offered visual arts and sculpture education since then. Its purpose-buil ...

. Morgan was a good friend and colleague with

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

and shared a studio with William Wallace Denslow, both joint creators of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

''. Morgan provided pictures for Baum's ''

American Fairy Tales ''American Fairy Tales'' is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' the previous year. The cover, title page, and ...

'' (1901), and illustrated ''

The Woggle-Bug Book ''The Woggle-Bug Book'' is a 1905 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum, creator of the Land of Oz, and illustrated by Ike Morgan. It has long been one of the rarest items in the Baum bibliography. Baum's text has been controversial for it ...

'' (1905). By one account, it was Morgan who introduced L. Frank Baum to

Paul Tietjens Paul Tietjens (; May 22, 1877 – November 25, 1943) was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for ''The Wizard of Oz (1902 musical), The Wizard of Oz'', the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Bau ...

, the composer for ''The Wizard of Oz'' and other stage projects. Both W.W. Denslow and Ike Morgan were influenced by Japanese woodcuts on French prints. Morgan developed his own pen-and-ink style and took pride with his color work in the ''Woggle-Bug Book'', Boylan's ''Kids of Many Colors'' and in ''Steps to Nowhere''. His bold illustrations and colors used in various shapes and sizes emphasized his drawings in a dramatic way, rather than limiting their natural scope, so widely incorporated by other illustrators. Morgan was commissioned often for his paintings, theatrical posters and magazine covers. Ike was married to Mrs. Pauline H. Swain Morgan. According to Denslow's biography it was Denslow who had hosted Morgan's wedding reception while his former roommate Paul Tietjans performed some of the music. Ike Morgan died at his home in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on September 13, 1913. Ike strip

References

Sources

*
Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum
* ''American Fairy Tales'', 1901, written by L. Frank Baum, illustrations Ike Morgan * ''The St. Louis Republic'', 1901

External links

*

at philsp.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Ike 1871 births 1913 deaths American illustrators People from Jackson County, Florida