Maxwell Coburn Whitmore (June 11, 1913 – October 12, 1988)M.C. Whitmore

Social Security Number In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to United States nationality law, U.S. citizens, Permanent residence (United States), permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2 ...

287-10-5182, at the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

via FamilySearch.org. was an American painter and magazine illustrator known for his ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' covers, and a

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

ist whose work included

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

s for

Gallo Wine Gallo is an American wine producer and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. Previously called E & J Gallo Winery, it was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family, and is the largest exporter of Califor ...

and other brands. He additionally became known as a race-car designer. Whitmore was inducted into the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators (SoI) is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. Since absorbing the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (M ...

Hall of Fame in 1978.

Biography

Early life and career

Coby Whitmore was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, the son of Maxwell Coburn Whitmore Sr. and Charlotte Bosler. He graduated from Steele High School and attended the

Dayton Art Institute The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, United States. The Dayton Art Institute has been rated one of the top 10 best art museums in the United States for children. The museum also ranks in the top 3% ...

. After moving to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, he apprenticed with

Haddon Sundblom Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (June 22, 1899 – March 10, 1976) was an American artist of Swedish and Finnish descent and best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company. Sundblom's friend Lou Prentice was th ...

, illustrator of the "Sundblom Circle", in addition to working for the '' Chicago Herald Examiner'' and taking night classes at the Chicago Art Institute. Whitmore moved to New York in 1942 and shortly afterward joined the Charles E. Cooper Studio, on West 57th Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Additional, July 16, 2009 There he illustrated for leading magazines of the day and did other commercial art. Whitmore and

Jon Whitcomb Jon Whitcomb (1906–1988) was an American illustrator. He was well known for his pictures of glamorous young women. He was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the ...

were two of the top illustrators at Cooper, which in the 1940s and 1950s "monopolized the ladies' magazines like ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, 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. The publication ...

'', ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'', and ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

'' with postwar images of the ideal white American family centered around pretty, middle-class, female consumers living happily in new kitchens, new houses, driving new cars, living with handsome husbands, adorable children, and cute dogs". Aside from women's magazines, Whitmore also illustrated for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''.

Later life and career

Additionally, Whitmore, by then living in Briarcliff Manor,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, teamed with former

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter pilot John Fitch, an imported car dealer in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

, to design and race sports cars in the 1950s and 1960s.

Personal life

He and his wife, Virginia, moved to

Hilton Head, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), and southwest of Charles ...

, in 1968. He died there on October 12, 1988, at age 75.

Legacy

Whitmore's work influenced such

comic-book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, ...

artists as

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

,Spurlock, David J., and John Buscema, ''John Buscema Sketchbook'' (Vanguard Productions: Lebanon, N.J. 2001), Hardcover , signed-numbered hardcover , trade paperback , p. 27. John Romita, Sr.,Spurlock, J. David, and John Romita. ''John Romita Sketchbook''. (Vanguard Productions: Lebanon, N.J. 2002) , p. 16 and Phil Noto. Glen Murakami, producer of the 2000s ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

, cited Whitmore and fellow illustrator

Bob Peak Robert M. Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) was an American commercial illustrator. He is best known for his developments in the design of the modern film poster. His Cover art, artwork has been on the cover of Time (magazine), ''Time'' m ...

as "big influences on the loose, painterly style we have been using for the backgrounds". His work was presented alongside that of several contemporaries of illustrator Al Parker in the "Re-Imagining the American Woman" section of the retrospective "Ephemeral Beauty: Al Parker and the American Women's Magazine, 1940-1960", mounted by the

Norman Rockwell Museum The Norman Rockwell Museum is an art museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States, dedicated to the art of Norman Rockwell. It is home to the world's largest collection of original Rockwell art. The museum also hosts traveling exhibition ...

from June 9 to October 28, 2007. Whitmore art is included in the permanent collections of

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

, the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Accolades

Whitmore was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in 1978. He received awards from the Art Directors Clubs of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, Coby American magazine illustrators American art educators 1913 births 1988 deaths Artists from Dayton, Ohio People from Briarcliff Manor, New York