FRANK E. SCHOONOVER CATALOGUE RAISONNE.

(Schoonover, Frank E.).

2 Volumes

  • New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 2009.
  • 9 x 12 inches
  • 2 volumes, hardcover with slipcase
  • 846 pages
  • ISBN: 9781584562382

Price: $195.00  other currencies

Order Nr. 96681

First edition. Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972) is recognized as one of the foremost illustrators of his time. His prolific contribution to American illustration spanned more than 40 years and included more than 2200 illustrations. His work appeared in most of the popular periodicals in the first half of the twentieth century, including Harpers, Scribner's, Saturday Evening Post, American Boy, Country Gentleman, and Colliers, as well as in over 150 books, particularly children's classics and contemporary fiction by such authors as Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Clarence Mulford, Lucy Foster Madison, James Willard Schultz, and Zane Grey. His iconic images of Hopalong Cassidy, Blackbeard, Jean LaFitte, Jim Bridger, Robinson Crusoe, Hans Brinker, Gulliver, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Joan of Arc remain a testimony of his creative, artistic ability.

Born in Oxford, New Jersey, in 1877, Schoonover eventually attended Drexel Institute in Philadelphia where he was taught by the quintessential American illustrator, Howard Pyle. Also, the young artist was chosen to attend Pyle's summer school in Chadds Ford. With Pyle's help, Schoonover initiated his illustrative career in 1899 with four en grisaille oil paintings for the book Jersey Boy in the Revolution. He numbered them #1-4 as he began recording his works in the remarkable day books, a chronological, detailed account that he maintained for his entire career. After settling in 1900 in Wilmington, Delaware, the artist traveled widely in the United States and Canada, giving him a unique perspective and a rich reservoir of experiences, which he incorporated into many works. He subsequently became recognized as an expert on the indigenous tribes of the Hudson Bay area. When the popularity of illustration waned in the 1940s, Schoonover turned to landscapes and commissions including designs for magnificent stained glass windows. He was also a sought-after, accomplished art teacher for twenty-five years.

The two-volume, slip-cased Frank E. Schoonover Catalogue Raisonné embodies Schoonover's entire oeuvre, from his earliest sketches to his last easel paintings. The book is chronologically organized with the numeration based on his daybook entries. Included are over 3000 images, many in full color, a detailed biography with accompanying time line, information about his models and students, lists of exhibitions and the magazines he illustrated, two additional bibliographies, and three indices. It is comprehensive in scope and will stand as the pre-eminent record of Schoonover, his life, and his work.