Edward Mason Eggleston

Edward Mason Eggleston (22 November 1882 – 14 January 1941) was an American painter who specialized in calendar portraits of women, fashionable and fantastic. He was also a well known commercial illustrator doing work for companies such as the Fisk Tire Company, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Great Lakes Exposition.

He attended the Columbus Art School in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York about 1915, where he worked to illustrate magazine covers, travel posters, advertisements and calendars. He worked primarily with oil paints on canvas, and also with pastels, water colors, and gouache. Described as "storytelling," his calendar works focused on women in stylish and fashionable dresses and hats, swimwear, or costumed as Native-American women, "Egyptian goddesses," pirate girls, and women in the character of Peter Pan.

Style and the Golden Age of Illustration Eggleston painted to create illustrations. He was a successful illustrator during the 1920s and 1930s, a period included in the Golden Age of Illustration.

The work of artists, Eggleston included, was influenced by what would sell to the American public. While boundaries were pushed with some images, such as in areas of nudity and sexuality, publishers sought images that would sell. One aspect of Modernism (of which Art Deco is part) was that artists were resisting a status quo. It meant an artist deciding for himself or herself what standards he would aspire to achieve. By the very nature of illustration, art in which a publisher or editor has a say, the artist's deciding for himself the standards he will meet is limited.

Early life and education Eggleston was born in Ashtabula, Ohio. By his late teens, he was living in Columbus, and was counted there in US Census in 1900.

He attended the Columbus Art School.

He was married in Montgomery, Ohio in 1907 to Ethel Grace Leland. Around 1908, they moved to Rochester, New York, where he was listed as a "designer" in the 1909 and 1910 city directory.

By 1918, Eggleston established his own business in Brooklyn, describing himself as a commercial illustrator in his registration for the draft.

Commercial

Eggleston created artwork for use in magazines. He also did an Art Deco series of paintings featuring railroad destinations for the Pennsylvania Railroad. 1916 woman with skis 1916 woman with iceskates 1919 "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" or 1920 "Dixie" 1925 Portrait, jewelry catalog 1926 "The Opera Queen" 1927 "Hello" or "Night and the stars are calling" 1928 "Moonlight and You" 1928 "The Valentine Girl" 1928 "Wonderful One" 1929 "Memories" 1929 "Golden Glory" 1929 "Sunshine" 1930 "Going Up" 1930 "Here I Am" 1930 "Vacation Days" woman in a red swimsuit calendar photo 1931"Top 'O the World", Woman with horse, '30s 1932 girl picking flowers under blue sky 1933 "A-milking we will go" 1933 "Found" 1934 "On Time" 1934 "Girl in Red Gown" 1934 "Moonlight and Roses" 1937 "Lantern Glow" 1937 "Tambourine Dancer" 1938 "A Bonnie Lassie" 1939 "Riding High" woman on horseback in front of red cliff "The Beauty"

Fantasy

c. 1925 "Isle of Dreamy Melodies" 1927 "Indian Love Call" 1929 "Pirate Queen of the Deck" 1929 "Starlight" 1929 "Bringing Home the Treasure" 1930 "Pipes of Pan" or "Melody" 1930 "Princess of the Treasure Isle" 1931 "Evening Star" 1931 "Nymph and Frog" or "Enchantment" Couple sits looking at images in distance 1931 "Peter Pan" standing on rock 1931 "Queen of the Waves" 1932 Fantasy castle landscape 1932/33 "Flame of the Mesa" 1932 "Red Wing" 1932 "The Treasure Princess" 1933 "Mariquita" or "Spanish Dancer" 1933 "Softly play the Pipes of Pan" 1933 "The Proposal" or "Hearts Unmasked", c 1933 1934 "The Paradise of Peter Pan" 1934 calendar with baby birds 1934 "Cleopatra" 1935 "Peter Pan" with seagulls 1935 "Queen of the Mountain Tribes" 1936 "Flaming Arrow" 1936 "Playmates of Peter Pan" 1937 "Found" 1937 "Who, Who's There?" 1939 pinup 1938 "Lady of Mystery" "Gypsy Love Call" Dream Castle" or "Daydreams"

Still life or landscape

1932 Pillared terrace overlooks a fantasy castle across the water 1940s Lake Waterfall Cabin Salesman Sample Calendar Print

Travel posters and advertisements

1916 Fisk Tires Sleepy Boy 1935 Pennsylvania Railroad, Atlantic City, America's Great All Year Resort 1935 Pennsylvania Railroad, Atlantic City, America's All Year Resort 1935 Pennsylvania Railroad, Atlantic City, America's Greatest Seashore Resort 1935 Pennsylvania Railroad, Washington, The City Beautiful 1937 Billy Rose's Aquacade, Great Lakes Exposition 1937 Great Lakes Exposition

Puzzles

Bessie Nowell, "Bringing Home the Treasure" Buckingham Jig Picture Puzzle, "Princess of the Treasure Isle" Detroit Gasket and Manufacturing Company, Dee-Gee puzzles, "Flame of the Mesa" Detroit Gasket and Manufacturing Company, Dee-Gee puzzles, "Isle of Dreamy Melodies" Detroit Gasket and Manufacturing Company, Dee-Gee puzzles, "Starlight Detroit Gasket and Manufacturing Company, Dee-Gee puzzles, "Treasure Princess Einson-Freeman Company, "The Proposal" Harter Jiggety Jig, "Princess of Treasure Isle" Jumble Jig Saw Puzzles, "Princess of the Treasure Isle" Louis F. Dow Company Jig Zag puzzle, "Evening Star" Parker Brothers, "Paradise of Peter Pan" Madmar Quality Company, Inc, "Indian Love Call" Royal Picture Puzzle, "Gypsy Love Call" Tuco Workshops, Inc., Tuco puzzle, "Cleopatra" Tuco Workshops, Inc., Tuco puzzle, "Paul Revere's Ride" Unknown maker, "Queen of the Dock"

Gallery See: Edward Mason Eggleston at Wikimedia Commons for more complete gallery