Louis Delton Fancher (December 25, 1884 – March 2, 1944) was an American artist and illustrator, notable for his drawings that appeared in books, in magazines, and on propaganda posters during World War I.Hughes, Edan Milton. ''Artists in California, 1786–1940'' (Hughes Pub Co; 2nd edition, June 1989) Fancher was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota. He was a student of Harry Siddons Mowbray,

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

, and

Kenyon Cox Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of the League ...

. He was active in San Francisco as well as in New York, where he lived most of his life. He also served in military intelligence with the US Army. He is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Notable works

Fancher illustrated two books of humorous

maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

s by

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclas ...

, ''The Maxims of Methuselah'' and ''The Maxims of Noah''. He also created well-known propaganda and recruitment posters for the aviation section of the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

and the

Committee on Public Information The Committee on Public Information (1917–1919), also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States under the Wilson administration created to influence public opinion to support the ...

. Two of his oil paintings were ''Price 10 Cents'', which had a winter sleigh theme, and ''Moving Lumber'', which followed an exotic theme with an elephant carrying a tree trunk through a jungle. He also created postcards for automobile companies, including

Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...

, and Packard. His illustrations for the latter featured the Packard "38" Runabout in Holland, the "38" Phaeton in Paris and the "48" touring car at the Grand Canyon. In 1933, Fancher painted and produced a large map depicting the history of food production in Iowa, including details of specific crops and foodstuffs, for an exhibit operated by

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the lar ...

at the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

. The following year, he produced a series of posters depicting the details of retail food distribution during the growth of the United States; these were displayed in Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company grocery stores as a special exhibit for their 75th anniversary.

References

External links

Record at Arlington National Cemetery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fancher, Louis D. 1884 births 1944 deaths American illustrators Artists from Minneapolis Artists from New York City