Sidney Harry Riesenberg (12 December 1885 – 11 October 1971) was an illustrator and artist who lived in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. He was known as a professional illustrator for his posters for the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and the

Liberty bond A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financia ...

programs, for his illustrations for book covers, magazines, and for oil paintings of diverse subjects. He retired from his professional work and dedicated his full-time energy to painting fine arts and teaching. In 1937 he began spending summers in

Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport is a seaside New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. Rockport borders Gloucester ...

, where he painted scenes of the small fishing town. He was active in the Rockport Art Association, teaching oil painting and participating in water color figure painting classes.

Biography

Riesenberg was born in 1885 in Chicago to Wilhelm Riesenberg (later William), a German immigrant, and Emily Riesenberg (née Schorb), a first generation German-American. He was educated at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, where he won the Frederick Magnus Brand prize for composition in 1906. He graduated with an Academic certificate in Drawing, Painting and Modeling. After graduation, he traveled to the American West by train and also to Querétaro, Mexico, on horseback and then moved to Yonkers where he began his career as a professional illustrator. His travels inspired a lifelong interest in depicting the American West frontier as was then being popularized by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

and other writers. In the early 1930s, Riesenberg began illustrating for national magazines. In the 1930s and 1940s, his work was often featured at venues such as the Art Institute of Chicago and 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 ...

and in organizations such as the Allied Artists of America. Riesenberg also won awards in oil, water color and drawing. In the 1950s he was an art instructor at the Westchester Workshop in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

. Riesenberg also served as President of the Yonkers Art Association. His older brother,

Felix Riesenberg Felix Riesenberg (9 April 1879 – 19 November 1939) was an American maritime officer and writer of maritime professional, historical, and fictional literature in the early 20th century. Biography Riesenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ...

, was a noted American maritime officer, explorer and writer of professional, historical and fictional literature with whom he was close. Riesenberg died in 1971 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Works

National Jewish Welfare Board WWI poster

Of Riesenberg's work, his contributions during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

are well known and he is described as "one of the greatest illustrators of the World War I era." Riesenberg's style, it has been said, shows influences from

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. He produced many posters for the US Marine Corps in addition to posters advertising the

Liberty Loan A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

campaign during

. One of Riesenberg's most well known works is his 1918 World War I-era poster, ''Over the Top for You'', which illustrates a young

doughboy Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...

clutching the

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

. With its bold illustration and concise text, like many war posters of the time, ''Over the Top for You'' encouraged the public to support its military by purchasing

liberty loans A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allies of World War I#Co-belligerents; the United States, Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic dut ...

. Among other posters, it was selected to display in the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

under the exhibit, ''Over the Top: American Posters from World War I.'' Riesenberg also created several posters for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, one of which, titled ''Democracy's Vanguard'', illustrates Marines landing from a boat to initiate an offensive. Another illustrated uniformed soldiers raising the flag against the background of a warship. Riesenberg created illustrations, including covers, for many national publications such as '' Boys' Life Magazine'', the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America, Harper's,

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 c ...

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

and

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

. The many thematic subjects of his fine art included scenes from places he lived, historical and action scenes, portraits, as well as the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Risenberg, Sidney 1885 births 1971 deaths American illustrators American poster artists 20th-century American painters American male painters Military art Artists from Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Artists from Yonkers, New York 20th-century American male artists

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links