Joseph Morgan Henninger (May 15, 1906 – March 7, 1999) was an American artist and

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 ...

. He was born in

Elwood, Indiana Elwood is a city in Madison and Tipton counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Madison County portion, which includes most of the city, is part of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion in Tipton County is p ...

and died In

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Chautauqua, Methodist organization, an ...

. Henninger was an accomplished painter and sculptor. He also became a commercial artist, an illustrator, and a teacher of "Croquie". He was a founding member and the first president of the

Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA) was founded in 1953 by a group of Southern California artists and designers "...to promote the professional status of illustration art as well as foster both philanthropic and educational goals". ...

(1953). The Society has established an annual award in his name to honor a top illustrator. He was a graduate of l'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He had won a four-year scholarship for a painting submitted to the Thomas Award competition. Upon graduating, he returned to Indiana and set up a portrait studio in Indianapolis. Later, he moved to Chicago, and then to the

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

where he painted two

murals 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 ...

. Finally, he settled in Los Angeles, California and his career as an illustrator, commercial artist, and teacher began. He taught classes at the Art Center College of Design for 36 years and many of his students became outstanding artists. Henninger also worked in the film industry, providing illustrations and set designs for

Vincent Korda Vincent Korda (22 June 1897 – 4 January 1979) was a Hungarian-born art director, later settling in Britain. Born in Túrkeve in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was the younger brother of Alexander and Zoltan Korda. He was nom ...

, Selznick Studios,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, and Columbia. During World War II, he headed the Illustration Department of

Lockheed Aircraft Lockheed (originally spelled Loughead) may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Lockheed Corporation, a former American aircraft manufacturer * Lockheed Martin, formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta ** Lockheed Ma ...

where he created perspective drawings of aircraft. Throughout his career years, Henninger continued to create fine art, including paintings in oil, acrylic and, primarily, watercolor. He traveled extensively in Europe to find subjects and locations for his paintings and also made several trips to Japan. An example of his skill and attention to detail is the watercolor shown at the right, depicting 33 scenes of Spain on a single canvas. His works are on display in private collections and museums, including the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

. In the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

Art Collection. can be seen several of his paintings, including a portrait of

Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...

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At the Tempe, Arizona, Tempe Campus of

there are two murals painted by Henninger: ''Spanish Influence in Arizona'' and ''Industrial Development in Arizona''. ''Industrial Development in Arizona'' addresses the theme of the five C's of Arizona: Cotton, copper, cattle, climate and citrus. Henninger received a commission to paint the murals in 1934 as part of the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...

. Henninger is also the author and illustrator of several books, one of the most important of which is ''Drawing of the Hand and Its Anatomy'', published in 1973. Henninger was President of the

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

in 1965, and was also elected to several terms as president of the

Art Directors Guild The Art Directors Guild (ADG; IATSE Local 800) is a trade union, labor union and local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) representing 2,979 motion pic ...

. He was a member of the National Watercolor Society. "American Artist" Magazine recognized Joseph Morgan Henninger as "''...one of the most influential watercolorists of the latter half of the twentieth century.''" (from the California Art Club Newsletter, June/July 1999) Joseph's beloved wife, Danica, followed him in death on January 23, 2004 at age 94.

References

*Harvey, B. (1983, Summer), Joseph Henninger, N.W.S., ''Artists of the Rockies and the Golden West'', pp72–79. *Hines, D. C. (1983, February), The Living Legends of American Watercolor. ''American Artist'', p71.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henninger, Joseph American watercolorists Artists from Indiana 1906 births 1999 deaths American muralists American illustrators Landscape artists Public Works of Art Project artists People from Elwood, Indiana American expatriates in France

See also

References

External links