J.C. Leyendecker at the Haggin Museum-Part I

I originally ran this post in the SiDEBAR forum over on the Comic Geek Speak Forums last Fall of 2010. While the SiDEBAR guys are still doing their thing on their own site, their Geek Speak forum has since been removed. However, in my never-ending quest to get the word out about the collection of Leyendecker works at the Haggin and what a great little art museum that they have in Stockton, I wanted to repost this here so fans of J.C. could get a close up view as I did and, perhaps, make the journey out to the Haggin next time they are in Northern California.

Here is the post from last Fall in NINE parts.....

J.C. LEYENDECKER 

AT THE HAGGIN MUSEUM

A couple years ago, I heard that the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California had a collection of works by the golden age illustrator J.C. Leyendecker. Finding anything on this level on the west coast is a rare treat and I ventured out to see the works last November of 2009. Not having done my homework, I found out that the paintings were on a tour for the last 3 years and would return in 2010.

I made my second trip out to the museum in July 2010 for an opening the museum had. The museum is small but they pack in a lot of art from Bouguereau to Bierstadt to Gerome and even some Northern California history. For the Leyendecker's return, a special room was set up to show the works and an opening was announced for July with patrons encouraged to dress up in period clothes of flappers and arrow collar men while the museum played music from the jazz age. It was a great evening but I was informed by the staff that what was on display wasn't their entire collection and, if I schedule an appointment, I could see the rest behind the scenes. And so that appointment was this week.

The museum allows for non-flash photography of their permanent collections. But conditions are not sent up for professional quality photography (nor should they be) so please forgive the color errors, reflections, and bad angles of these photos. For the best quality of viewing of the entire pieces, it is best to either visit the show or seek out one of the books on Leyendecker to see them properly.  But my goal with many of these photos was to get some close ups so one can see the brushstrokes and details and perhaps learn from this information.

THE SHOW

The Haggin Museum sits in a nice park in Stockton, California. About an hour and 30 minute scenic drive to the central valley for me (just south of Sacramento).

The show is in a small room. The plan is to have the show last until the end of the year. They'd like to keep a permanent Leyendecker room open and rotate in other works not currently on display but space is limited. The images upstairs are merely new posters of his covers while the works bellow are originals. The museum director during the 1950s was a fan of Leyendecker and American Illustration and, after J.C.'s death, wrote to J.C.'s sister, Augusta, about acquiring pieces for the museum.

I finished reading the newer Leyendecker book last month and am in the process of reading Michael Schau's 1974 book on the artist and it is giving me insight to the artist. One is that the artist didn't like to use photographs, preferring to use live models and then work from those sketches and observations later. Like many artists, he was a perfectionist and did many studies. In many of the Leyendecker works, I see a real economy of brushstrokes with J.C. allowing for the canvas or under painting to come through. Some of them look loose upon closer inspection.

PART II NEXT TIME