Harry Ekman was a significant American graphic artist. His early influences were Gil Elvgren

Gil Elvgren

Gil Elvgren , born Gillette Elvgren, was an American painter of pin-up girls, advertising and illustration. Elvgren was one of the more important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century. Today he is best known for his pin-up paintings for Brown & Bigelow...

, Haddon Sundblom

Haddon Sundblom

Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom was an artist best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company.-Background:Sundblom was born in Muskegon, Michigan to a Swedish-speaking family...

, Joyce Ballantine. Ekman initially apprenticed with Sundblom who was a close family friend and by 1951 for Elvgren. He died in Medford, New Jersey in 1999.

Career

Harry Ekman studied at the American Academy of Art

American Academy of Art

The American Academy of Art is a professional, accredited fine arts school located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of both fine and commercial arts students. The school has a tradition of top art education with exceptional students being awarded the academy's...

 and the Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...

. He is best remembered for his pin-up and advertising work. Working with Gil Elvgren, he is thought to have penned several of the iconic images attributed to Elvgren. By 1960, Ekman was making a transition from commercial illustration and pin-up art to portraiture. The rest of his career was devoted to gallery works and portraits.