Ann Brockman

Ann Brockman (1895–1943) was an American artist who achieved success as a figurative painter following a successful career as an illustrator. Born in California, she spent her childhood in the American Far West and, upon marrying the artist William C. McNulty, relocated to Manhattan at the age of 18 in 1914. She took classes at the Art Students League where her teachers included two realist artists of the Ashcan School, George Luks and John Sloan. Her career as an illustrator began in 1919 with cover art for four issues of a fiction monthly called Live Stories. She continued providing cover art and illustrations for popular magazines and books until 1930 when she transitioned from illustrator to professional artist. From that year until her death in 1943, she took part regularly in group and solo exhibitions, receiving a growing amount of critical recognition and praise. In 1939 she told an interviewer that making money as an illustrator was so easy that it "almost spoiled [her] chances of ever being an artist."