reviews_and_ramblings (
reviews_and_ramblings) wrote2010-10-16 10:42 am
Behind the Cover: Earl Somers Cordrey
Cordrey was born September 6, 1902 in Piru, California.
He grew up Los Angeles, and studied at the Chouinard School of Art in the early 1920s. He began his career as a freelance illustrator in the Sam Hyde Harris studio, and after moving to New York in 1927, studied at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City.
American Magazine, I Was So Young, 1943
American Magazine, The Roller In The Isle, 1943
American Weekly, 1950
American Weekly, 1951
American Weekly, Lon Chaney, The Man of 1000 Faces, 1950
Colliers, 1939
Colliers, 1948
Colliers, April In Spring, 1943
Colliers, Front Door To Love, 1944
Colliers, Ring Twice For Laura, 1942
Colliers, The Lavendar Land, 1944
Colliers, The Sergeant Isn't Serious, 1944
Colliers, Time To Go, 1942
Woman's Home Companion, This Was Meant To Be, 1946
Dextrose, 1941
Dextrose, 1941
Duraglas, 1941
Hudson Hosiery, 1945
Listerine, 1946
Mallory Hats, 1942
Mallory Hats, 1942
Mallory Hats, 1947
Mallory Hats, 1948
Specializing in tightly rendered and highly posed romantic scenes, his covers and story illustrations, including those for F. Scott Fitzgerald, appeared in numerous magazines including Cosmopolitan, Redbook, The American Weekly, and Collier’s in the 1930s and ’40s. He also created post cards of the Stork Club and other high profile commissions outside of periodical illustration.
In 1942, he moved back to Southern California and in addition to his ongoing career as an illustrator, worked as an art director and designed the logo for Palm Springs Life magazine, the official seal for the city of Palm Spring, California, and actor William Holden’s Mount Kenyan Safari Club.
He retired from commercial work in 1951, but continued to paint landscapes of the California and Mexico desert until his death in 1977. He was a member of the Society of Illustrators.
He grew up Los Angeles, and studied at the Chouinard School of Art in the early 1920s. He began his career as a freelance illustrator in the Sam Hyde Harris studio, and after moving to New York in 1927, studied at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City.
American Magazine, I Was So Young, 1943
American Magazine, The Roller In The Isle, 1943
American Weekly, 1950
American Weekly, 1951
American Weekly, Lon Chaney, The Man of 1000 Faces, 1950
Colliers, 1939
Colliers, 1948
Colliers, April In Spring, 1943
Colliers, Front Door To Love, 1944
Colliers, Ring Twice For Laura, 1942
Colliers, The Lavendar Land, 1944
Colliers, The Sergeant Isn't Serious, 1944
Colliers, Time To Go, 1942
Woman's Home Companion, This Was Meant To Be, 1946
Dextrose, 1941
Dextrose, 1941
Duraglas, 1941
Hudson Hosiery, 1945
Listerine, 1946
Mallory Hats, 1942
Mallory Hats, 1942
Mallory Hats, 1947
Mallory Hats, 1948
Specializing in tightly rendered and highly posed romantic scenes, his covers and story illustrations, including those for F. Scott Fitzgerald, appeared in numerous magazines including Cosmopolitan, Redbook, The American Weekly, and Collier’s in the 1930s and ’40s. He also created post cards of the Stork Club and other high profile commissions outside of periodical illustration.
In 1942, he moved back to Southern California and in addition to his ongoing career as an illustrator, worked as an art director and designed the logo for Palm Springs Life magazine, the official seal for the city of Palm Spring, California, and actor William Holden’s Mount Kenyan Safari Club.
He retired from commercial work in 1951, but continued to paint landscapes of the California and Mexico desert until his death in 1977. He was a member of the Society of Illustrators.