About the artist:

Dean Cornwell was a brilliant left-handed painter and muralist who dominated the illustration field for many years. Dean Cornwell began his professional art career at age 18 as a cartoonist for the Louisville Herald. A year later, he enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute and went to work in the art department of the Chicago Tribune. At the Chicago Art Institute, he met and studied under prominent art educator Harvey Dunn. In 1915 Dean Cornwell followed Dunn to New York and joined him in his studio-classroom. After studying with Dunn Cornwell quickly became a success, although he eventually developed his own bold, light-drenched style. He married artist Mildred Montrose Kirkham in Chicago in 1918, but his constant extramarital affairs caused the couple to separate after just a few years of marriage. They had two children but never divorced. Dean Cornwell always had a strong work ethic and often worked seventeen-hour days, seven days a week. He produced over 1,000 illustrations for nearly every major publication in the country including Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping magazines.