Bradshaw Crandell
Encyclopedia
Bradshaw Crandell was an American
artist
and illustrator. He was known as the "artist of the stars". Among those who posed for Crandell were Carol Lombard, Bette Davis
, Judy Garland
, Veronica Lake
and Lana Turner
. In 1921 he began his career with an ad for Lorraine hair nets sold exclusively by F. W. Woolworth. His first cover illustration was the May 28, 1921 issue for Judge (magazine). In later life he went from illustrations to oil on canvas paintings which included political figures. He also provided poster work for 20th Century Fox
. In 2006 he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators
hall of fame. In March 2010, an illustration for the 1952 Dutch Treat Club
yearbook of Crandell's sold for $17,000.
. Crandell attended classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago but did not graduate. Instead he enrolled in Wesleyan University
and again did not graduate. His 1918 World War I draft registration card noted he was a student. The twelfth general catalog of the Psi Upsilon
fraternity lists him under the Xi Chapter for the year 1919 (from Wesleyan).
Some of Crandell's work is on display in Vanderbilt Hall, a mansion hotel in Newport, Rhode Island
owned by Peter de Savary
. Phyllis Brown often graced the covers of Cosmopolitan and she was a well sought after model. An incident is told that Gerald Ford
suggested the future Mrs. Betty Ford
meet with two of his favorite friends when he heard of a trip she made to New York. Those friends being Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw Crandell; however, when Phyllis arrived or as the future first lady put it later "In she slinked, Jerry's model" (Jerry had dated Phyllis) in a low cut very revealing outfit and then had the audacity to steal her escort. Both Crandell and Ford were innocent of any wrongdoing, though, as Phyllis admitted it was all her idea.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and illustrator. He was known as the "artist of the stars". Among those who posed for Crandell were Carol Lombard, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
and Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
. In 1921 he began his career with an ad for Lorraine hair nets sold exclusively by F. W. Woolworth. His first cover illustration was the May 28, 1921 issue for Judge (magazine). In later life he went from illustrations to oil on canvas paintings which included political figures. He also provided poster work for 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. In 2006 he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
hall of fame. In March 2010, an illustration for the 1952 Dutch Treat Club
Dutch Treat Club
The Dutch Treat Club is a society of illustrators, writers and performers based in New York City. Primarily social in nature, the club has had as members such leading literary figures and humorists as Robert Benchley, Rube Goldberg, Robert M. McBride, and Ogden Nash.-Founding:In 1905, Tuesday was...
yearbook of Crandell's sold for $17,000.
Early life
John Bradshaw Crandell was born in Glens Falls, New York in 1896, son of Hubert Lee and Vira (Mills) Crandell. Hubert's grandfather, born Peter Crandall, thought "the better way to spell the last name was Crandell instead of the original spelling used by the immigrant ancestor, Elder John CrandallJohn Crandall
John Crandall, one of the founding settlers of Westerly, Rhode Island, was born in 1618 in Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, England to James Crandall, a yeoman of Kendleshire in that parish, and his first wife Eleanor...
. Crandell attended classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago but did not graduate. Instead he enrolled in Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and again did not graduate. His 1918 World War I draft registration card noted he was a student. The twelfth general catalog of the Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
fraternity lists him under the Xi Chapter for the year 1919 (from Wesleyan).
Career
Crandall's career took off in 1921 with a contract for the cover of Judge magazine. Although he began his business as John Bradshaw Crandell Studios in 1925, he dropped his first name by 1935. He was known as a "glamour" artist and not necessarily a "pin-up" artist; however, he did have rather risque work, such as the two nude water nymphs and a nude cover for the Dutch Treat Club. In the 1950s, Crandall moved from illustrations to oil and portraits.Some of Crandell's work is on display in Vanderbilt Hall, a mansion hotel in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
owned by Peter de Savary
Peter de Savary
Peter John de Savary is an English entrepreneur and a former Chairman of Millwall F.C. In the 1999 Sunday Times Rich List, he was placed in 971st place with an estimated fortune of £21 million, but was not listed in the top thousand places in subsequent editions.-Biography:De Savary built his...
. Phyllis Brown often graced the covers of Cosmopolitan and she was a well sought after model. An incident is told that Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
suggested the future Mrs. Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
meet with two of his favorite friends when he heard of a trip she made to New York. Those friends being Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw Crandell; however, when Phyllis arrived or as the future first lady put it later "In she slinked, Jerry's model" (Jerry had dated Phyllis) in a low cut very revealing outfit and then had the audacity to steal her escort. Both Crandell and Ford were innocent of any wrongdoing, though, as Phyllis admitted it was all her idea.
Advertising
The following is a partial list of some of Crandell's works and is by no means exhaustive:- 1921: F. W. Woolworth's ad for Lorraine hair nets
- 1921, 1937: ChesterfieldChesterfield (cigarette)Chesterfield is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. It was one of the most recognized brands of the early 20th century, but sales have declined steadily over the years. It was named for Chesterfield County, Virginia. Chesterfield is still being made today; it is still popular in Europe, but has...
ad - 1921: Judge (magazine) cover
- 1924-7: ColliersCollier's WeeklyCollier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
cover - 1925-6: The DesignerThe DesignerThe Designer is a British reality television series in which 11 to 16 year olds compete for the chance to win their very own designer clothing company with help from business entrepreneur Laird Turnpenny...
cover - 1926-8, 1934-5, 1937: Saturday Evening Post cover
- 1926, 1928: Modern PriscillaModern PriscillaModern Priscilla is the title of Cilla Black's tenth solo studio album and her last to be completed before the end of her 15-year contract with the EMI group...
cover - 1927, 1931-2: Physical Culture cover
- 1928: Mazola Oil ad
- 1929: Cudahy's Puritan Bacon ad
- 1929: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea CompanyThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea CompanyThe Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...
(A&P) ad - 1930: College HumorCollege HumorCollege Humor was a popular humor magazine from the 1920s to the 1940s. Published monthly by Collegiate World Publishing, it began in 1920 with reprints from college publications and soon introduced new material, including fiction. Contributors included Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, Groucho Marx,...
cover - 1930: LifeLife (magazine)Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
cover - c 1930: Old Gold cigarette ad
- 1931: Schrafft's candy ad
- 1931, 1933: Farmer's Wife cover
- 1932: Gerlack-Barklow calendars
- 1933: The American Magazine cover
- 1933: Palmolive soap ad
- 1935-1940, 1944-6: CosmopolitanCosmopolitan (magazine)Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
cover - 1936: BuickBuickBuick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
ad - 1938: Coca-ColaCoca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
serving tray - 1939: Lucky StrikeLucky StrikeLucky Strike is a brand of cigarette owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco groups. Often referred to as "Luckies", Lucky Strike was the top selling cigarette in the United States during the 1930s.- History :...
calendar ad - 1940: PabstPabst Brewing CompanyPabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
beer ad - 194?: American Red CrossAmerican Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
poster ad - 1943: PontiacPontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
ads (honoring all arms and services of the fighting forces) - 1943: Women's Army CorpsWomen's Army CorpsThe Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
recruiting poster - 1944: Tangee face powder ad
- 1948: Edgeworth pipe tobacco ad
- 1949: Lord Calvert whiskey ad
- unknown: RedbookRedbookRedbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
only editorial or story illustration per Crandell himself
Stars
- Lana TurnerLana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
- Susan HaywardSusan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 when open auditions were held for the leading role in Gone with the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
- Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
- Veronica LakeVeronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
- Carol Lombard
- Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
- Olivia De HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
- Rosemary Lane, one of the Lane SistersLane SistersThe Lane Sisters refers to a group of sisters, three of whom achieved success in the 1920s and 1930s as a singing act, with their popularity onstage leading to a series of successful films. A fourth sister was not successful and left this milieu and a fifth avoided show business altogether...
- Gloria CallenGloria CallenGloria Callen, a backstroke swimmer from the United States, was the 1942 Associated Press Athlete of the Year.-Biography:"Glamorous" Gloria Marie Callen was born in 1922. She married Herbert Erskine Jones Jr. in 1944....
- Joan BennettJoan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
- Joan FontaineJoan FontaineJoan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
- Phyllis Brown
- Anne BaxterAnne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
- Betty HuttonBetty HuttonBetty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
- Jennifer JonesJennifer JonesPhylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
Politicians
- W. D. Hoard, Jr., son of governor of Wisconsin
- Walter J. Kohler, Jr.Walter J. Kohler, Jr.Walter Jodok Kohler, Jr. was the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin for three terms from 1951 to 1957 and a leading figure in state and national Republican Party activities. His role in the clash between Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 has interested...
, governor of Wisconsin
Others
- James Montgomery FlaggJames Montgomery FlaggJames Montgomery Flagg was an American artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters....
fellow artist who gave us the popular Uncle Sam poster of "We Want You for US Army"
External links and further reading
- Platnick, Norman I. "Roses of Romance: A Collector's Guide to Bradshaw Crandell", Enchanment Ink, Bay Shore, New York, 2003
- American Art Archives http://www.americanartarchives.com/crandell,bradshaw.htm
- Curtis Licensing http://www.curtispublishing.com/List/html/CoryEverett.html