Kevin Sprouls
Encyclopedia
Kevin Sprouls is the creator of the Wall Street Journal portrait style known as hedcut
.
He began as a freelance illustrator for Dow Jones and Company, the parent company for The Wall Street Journal
. In 1979 he introduced a style of stipple portraiture that the Journal adopted because it was reminiscent of the sort of old engravings that are found on bank notes. Kevin became the first full time artist at the Journal, eventually the Assistant Art Director and head of the illustration department. His Wall Street Journal stipple illustrations were awarded a gold medal at The Society of Illustrators competition in 1986. His style of portraiture, later coined hedcut, is the definitive corporate icon and is created completely by hand, not computer.
Sprouls is once again is a freelance artist but still works for Dow Jones on occasion, along with a host of other publishing clients. He has been featured on CNN
, in the American National Portrait Gallery
and in the Smithsonian
magazine.
His pen is housed in the Newseum
in Washington
.
Hedcut
Hedcut is a term referring to a style of drawing, associated with The Wall Street Journal half-column portrait illustrations. They use the stipple method of many small dots and the hatching method of small lines to create an image, and are designed to emulate the look of woodcuts from old-style...
.
He began as a freelance illustrator for Dow Jones and Company, the parent company for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. In 1979 he introduced a style of stipple portraiture that the Journal adopted because it was reminiscent of the sort of old engravings that are found on bank notes. Kevin became the first full time artist at the Journal, eventually the Assistant Art Director and head of the illustration department. His Wall Street Journal stipple illustrations were awarded a gold medal at The Society of Illustrators competition in 1986. His style of portraiture, later coined hedcut, is the definitive corporate icon and is created completely by hand, not computer.
Sprouls is once again is a freelance artist but still works for Dow Jones on occasion, along with a host of other publishing clients. He has been featured on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, in the American National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
and in the Smithsonian
Smithsonian (magazine)
Smithsonian is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.-History:...
magazine.
His pen is housed in the Newseum
Newseum
The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. The seven-level, museum features 15 theaters and 14 galleries. The Newseum's Berlin Wall Gallery includes the largest display of sections of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany...
in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
External links
- Kevin Sprouls’s homepage
- Kevin Sprouls—Blog site for Kevin Sprouls
- How a Photo Becomes a Wall Street Journal Hedcut at DowJones.com (PDF)
- Ink Dot Art in the SmithsonianSmithsonian (magazine)Smithsonian is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.-History:...
magazine - Getting Inside Their Heds—a chapter from Picturing Business in America. Hedcuts in The Wall Street Journal, an article on the National Portrait Gallery website