Robert Tallon

Robert B. Tallon (September 21, 1932 – December 1, 2015) was an American painter, illustrator, writer, and singer. Between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, Tallon wrote and/or illustrated 18 books, most of which were picture books and alphabet books for children. He is also known for his magazine illustrations, especially his cover art for The New Yorker during the same period.

Tallon turned to painting and drawing after polio deprived him of his singing voice when he was a teenager. His work has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He continued to paint until his death in 2015.

Early life and education Tallon was born in Astoria, Queens during the Great Depression. He and his family—which included his mother Anna and father Charles, brothers Charles Jr. and Bill, and sister Anne—moved house several times when he was growing up. Such was the economic climate of New York City during the Depression and wartime that the Tallon children helped earn money for the household by performing. This opportunity was never realized, however, for Tallon contracted polio before he could attend. The infection developed into bulbar polio, a rare form of paralytic polio in which the polio virus spreads within the brain stem and damages nerves in the medulla. Because of this nerve damage, Tallon did not have enough control of muscles in his throat to sing as he could before. It was during his recovery that drawing and painting became his artistic outlet.

Tallon graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn. He was drafted into the United States Army at age 20, but received a medical discharge less than nine months later due to post-polio syndrome. He went on to write and/or illustrate more than a dozen picture books and alphabet books. The Brooklyn Museum awarded his book Rhoda's Restaurant (1973) the Brooklyn Art Books for Children Citation for 1975. His last picture book, Mooseberry and the Fuzzo Makers was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1984.

Tallon's career in children's literature was aided by Miriam Chaikin, an editor at Bobbs-Merrill who was herself an accomplished children's writer. Chaikin edited Tallon's 1971 alphabet book Zoophabets, which was one of his first books for children.

Magazine illustration In the mean time, Tallon's work in magazine illustration continued. He provided the cover of the 17 September 1973 issue of Time, for the cover story "Hamburger Empire" (about the McDonald's Corporation). (The original painting, titled McDonald's Hamburger, is now held by the US's National Portrait Gallery.) But, he is probably best known for his covers of The New Yorker. The first of these, The Boy with the Flute (9 December 1974), is a portrayal of Georgie Freewall, a boy who lived in the apartment next door to the Tallons in Rockaway, Queens. The Tallon family often heard the sound of Georgie's playing through the apartment wall. They felt great sympathy for him because a fall had left him brain-damaged.

After the magazine accepted and published the illustration, the editorial staff were surprised that Tallon did not promptly submit more artwork. They phoned him in January 1975 and explained that, as an approved contributor, he could start start bringing in new work every week. This began a relationship with the magazine that lasted for more than 13 years. What eventually brought it to a close was the replacement of editor William Shawn.

Shawn had been editor-in-chief of The New Yorker ever since he succeeded the magazine's late founder, Harold Ross, in 1951. The magazine flourished under Shawn's leadership. By 1985, however, the board of directors were worried about diminishing ad revenue despite high circulation. They sold the magazine to Advance Publications. In 1987, Advance Publications owner S. I. Newhouse Jr. hired Robert Gottlieb to replace Shawn as editor.

Gottlieb started publishing humorous cover art. Whereas Shawn used to prefer covers that were (as New Yorker art editor and cartoonist Lee Lorenz put it) "delicate and quietly amusing", Gottlieb had a fondness for jokes and visual puns. Along with Charlie Martin, Lonnie Sue Johnson, and Arthur Getz, Tallon was one of the long-time cover artists who were unable or unwilling to accommodate Gottlieb's taste.

Chronology of The New Yorker covers Of the 33 issues of The New Yorker with cover art by Robert Tallon, one was published in 1974, three were published in 1975, three in 1976, six in 1977, two in 1978, one in 1979, four in 1980, three in 1981, and one in 1982. There were two per year from 1983 through 1986, none in 1987 (due to editorial changes at the magazine), and one in 1988.

Art media and style Tallon painted variously in tempera, watercolor, and acrylics, but he was also noted for combining watercolor and acrylic. He drew in ink, graphite pencil, colored pencil, pastel, and charcoal. A technique he used on a number of works was to rub the back of his drawing paper or canvas in order to give it a visible texture. The effect can be seen in The Boy with the Flute, which decorates the cover of the 9 December 1974 issue of The New Yorker. Although his illustration work is representational, later in life he turned to abstract painting. Tallon died in 2015.

Conversations: Cries, Croaks, and Calls (1963) Conversations contains a series of vignettes from conversations in progress. Each conversation is distinct and narratively unrelated to the others. The text for each piece is a monologue delivered by one of the interlocutors. In some cases the speaker's statement is cohesive and confined to a single topic, while in others it is more reflective of the stream of consciousness.

The "conversations" are handwritten in cursive with ink on the verso, and illustrated with a full-page ink drawing on the recto. The cover, which is also hand-lettered in cursive, is decorated with a color drawing in oil pastel.

Handella (1972) Handella's dancing career is off to a rough start: She is booed off the stage after she falls during a pirouette. She leaves in tears, and ends up on an adventure across a stormy sea and through a strange land. She arrives at the gate of legendary dancer Madame Fingersnap, who knows exactly how to fix Handella's technique.

In Handella's world, the people, animals, and trees are hands. Handella is drawn in ink and painted in tempera.

Rhoda's Restaurant (1973) You've heard of a genie that comes out of a lamp, and even a bottle, but how about a can? That's what Rhoda finds on a shelf in the stockroom of her new roadside restaurant. Rhoda needs some help, because she is an awful cook. One wish later, 100 customers fill her dining room. Wish number two gives her a bottomless pot of delicious spaghetti and meatballs; but within minutes, Rhoda has to use her third wish to stop the humongous spaghetti noodles and meatballs that flood the restaurant. After this ordeal, Rhoda sees fit to visit the factory that puts genies in cans. Her genie is not the only one (and each of them wears a can like a fez).

The book has a cover illustration painted in tempera, and narrative illustrations drawn in ink.

The Alligator’s Song (1981) After the thunder wakes Eddie one night, he can hardly believe his eyes when he sees a sad alligator in a sailor's hat singing outside his window. If only the alligator could have his wish and make it back to the sea.

The book has 25 narrative illustrations drawn with pen and ink and painted in tempera; a 26th ink and tempera painting decorates the front cover. The dedication reads, "To all children: Hold on to your dreams."

Latouse My Moose (1983) A man buys a moose from a stranger on the wharf, believing the sales pitch that what he's getting for his three dollars is a rare West Tibetan mountain dog. The man loves his new "dog", no matter how big he gets. But, when Latouse the moose wins big at the Big Dog Show, he attracts the attention of young Reggie Van Melville IV, who sends his bodyguards to moosenap Latouse.

Latouse My Moose has 33 single-page drawings in black pencil, plus an illustrated title page and endpapers. The cover is painted in tempera. The dedication reads "For my dear mother, a wonderful lady and talented artist".

Mooseberry and the Fuzzo Makers (1984) Mooseberry is a boy who keeps his closet messy. So messy, in fact, that the Closet Keeper who lives in there calls it quits after only a week. No sooner is he gone than the Fuzzo Makers take over, using a machine to turn Mooseberry's clothes into fluffy bits of fuzz. Things go from bad to worse when they hold Mooseberry's dog Bork hostage to force Mooseberry to stuff this "fuzzo" into coat pockets all over town.

Mooseberry and the Fuzzo Makers has 12 double-page illustrations and 10 single-page illustrations. The cover and title page page are also illustrated. All illustrations except for the cover's are graphite drawings. Tallon dedicated the book to his sister Anne.

As illustrator + Books illustrated by Robert Tallon Title Writer Form Publication date Location Publisher Fables for the Fair: Cautionary Tales for Damsels Not Yet in Distress Josephine Daskam Bacon Collection of fables New York Holt, Rinehart and Winston Hurry! Dinner Is at Six! Ruth Leslie Smith New York Bobbs-Merrill Sam Sunday and the Strange Disappearance of Chester Cats Robyn Supraner Picture book New York Parents' Magazine Press

Fables for the Fair: Cautionary Tales for Damsels Not Yet in Distress (1967)

This is a slim volume with 25 short fables written by Josephine Daskam Bacon (who is not credited in this 1967 edition). 13 of the 25 have one illustration each, drawn in ink. The cover has an ink drawing that parodies the cover of the 1902 edition. The title pages of the book and of the stories each have a small, decorative ink drawing.

This collection was not illustrated when it was first published under the title Fables for the Fair circa 1901.

Hurry! Dinner Is at Six! (1969) Betsy's mother tells her to tidy away her things before dinner. It is not what Betsy would like to be doing. Red hen invites Betsy to accompany her to her cousin Cockaroo's birthday party. They meet lots of animals on their way, but Betsy has little time to stop.

Sam Sunday and the Strange Disappearance of Chester Cats (1978) Normally Mrs. Cats has eight kittens, but one day there are only seven. Lolly, Polly, Dicky, Ricky, Terry, Merry, and Melvin are here, but where is Chester? When not even a fresh salmon pie lures him home, Mrs. Cats decides it's time to report his disappearance to the police. Their very best detective, Sam Sunday, is soon at her door. Like Joe Friday, Sam Sunday knows a clue when he hears one, and he does not like wasting time.

The story has nine single-page illustrations and six two-page illustrations. Four more paintings decorate the cover and front matter. All paintings are in color.

Sam Sunday was written by Robyn Supraner, an American poet, teacher, and author of numerous children's books. She published another Sam Sunday detective story, Sam Sunday and the Mystery at the Ocean Beach Hotel, in 1996. It is illustrated by Will Hillenbrand.