Lee Brown Coye
Encyclopedia
Lee Brown Coye was an American
artist
.
Coye is probably best remembered for his black-and-white illustrations for pulp magazine
s and horror fiction
, but he produced many other works in other media.
, and as a young man lived in nearby Tully
. He spent his entire life in the Central New York area.
He and his wife, Ruth, lived in Syracuse for many years where Coye's activities included teaching adult art classes; working under the Works Progress Administration
to paint a mural in the Cazenovia High School in 1934 (since destroyed); advertising for the WSYR
Broadcasting System in upstate New York, producing a variety of commissioned works.
The Coyes settled in Hamilton, New York
, in 1959 when Lee went to work for Sculptura, a small company that reproduced antique sculptures. The move to Hamilton allowed Coye to fulfill his ambition of returning to a small town and maintaining his own art studio.
Coye was almost entirely self-taught as an artist, and his entire life was devoted to art-related work. As a young man, he attended one semester of night art classes, but his artistic knowledge and abilities came from many years of work and a thorough study of nature. His astute knowledge of body parts developed from his studies of anatomy and his work as a medical illustrator. He spent time attending operations and autopsies
, thus becoming extremely familiar with the human body assembled or not.
-like patterns. This was inspired by a 1938 discovery in an abandoned farmhouse.
Coye had returned to the North Pitcher, New York, area where he spent much of his childhood. While wandering deep in the woods, Coye discovered an abandoned farmhouse. Boards and pieces of wood which had been set perpendicular to one another surrounded the site. Neither inside nor out could Coye find an explanation for the presence of these crossed sticks. In the years following, Coye remained interested in the significance of his discovery.
When Coye returned to the site in 1963, there was nothing left of the building or the sticks (the area had suffered severe flooding), and he never found out why the sticks were there or who it was that had arranged them in such a manner. Because of the strangeness of the entire experience, these forms never left Coye, and they appear in many of his paintings and illustrations.
The incident also inspired Coye's friend Karl Edward Wagner
to write the award-winning story "Sticks
". Image of Man with Wooden Sticks
was an early Coye trademark in paintings and illustrations. The whale
became a later signature motif. Coye fashioned wooden sculptures, silver pendant
s and pins, engravings, drawings, and a large painting of the whale. One very fine example is in the Morrisville State College Library collection the 3 foot (0.9144 m) pine "Moby-Dick
" sculpture created in 1965. Image of Moby Dick Sculpture
Coye's fame as an illustrator of the macabre
developed as a result of his drawings for Weird Tales
, a popular pulp magazine. From 1945 to 1952, his covers and interior work captured images of horror and the supernatural. In the 1960 s, Coye's work appeared in such magazines as Fantastic and Amazing. Coye illustrated August Derleth
's horror story anthologies, Sleep No More, Who Knocks, and The Night Side, as well as the H. P. Lovecraft
collection, Three Tales of Horror, and two deluxe collections of pulp stories edited by Karl Edward Wagner and published by his imprint Carcosa
: Manly Wade Wellman
's Worse Things Waiting (1975) and Hugh B. Cave
's Murgunstrumm and Others (1978). For his work in Worse Things Waiting, and again in 1976, Coye won the World Fantasy Award
for best artist.
painter, a muralist, a sculptor
, a photographer, a silversmith
, and an able builder of models and dioramas. From rats and beetles and disfigured bodies, to whales, mythic figures, and landscapes, Coye's subjects are as diverse as the media in which he worked. All of his work was executed with expert craftsmanship, and exhibits the originality that sprang from his renowned imagination and sense of humor. Coye created paintings, sculpture, and jewelry that are as beautiful as his illustrations are macabre.
Image of Night Side cover
Coye's work is represented in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York, the Everson Museum in Syracuse, the Onondaga County Historical Society, Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University
, the Morrisville State College Library, SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University
, and private collections.
At other websites:
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...
.
Coye is probably best remembered for his black-and-white illustrations for pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s and horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, but he produced many other works in other media.
Biography
Coye was born in Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, and as a young man lived in nearby Tully
Tully, New York
Tully, New York may refer to:* Tully , New York* Tully , New York...
. He spent his entire life in the Central New York area.
He and his wife, Ruth, lived in Syracuse for many years where Coye's activities included teaching adult art classes; working under the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
to paint a mural in the Cazenovia High School in 1934 (since destroyed); advertising for the WSYR
WSYR
WSYR may refer to:* WSYR-TV, a television station licensed to Syracuse, New York, United States* WSYR , a radio station licensed to Syracuse, New York...
Broadcasting System in upstate New York, producing a variety of commissioned works.
The Coyes settled in Hamilton, New York
Hamilton (village), New York
The Village of Hamilton is a village located within the town of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA.-Geography and climate:The village, located at , lies in the Chenango Valley, just south of the headwaters of the Chenango River. The village is approximately southeast of Syracuse and ...
, in 1959 when Lee went to work for Sculptura, a small company that reproduced antique sculptures. The move to Hamilton allowed Coye to fulfill his ambition of returning to a small town and maintaining his own art studio.
Coye was almost entirely self-taught as an artist, and his entire life was devoted to art-related work. As a young man, he attended one semester of night art classes, but his artistic knowledge and abilities came from many years of work and a thorough study of nature. His astute knowledge of body parts developed from his studies of anatomy and his work as a medical illustrator. He spent time attending operations and autopsies
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
, thus becoming extremely familiar with the human body assembled or not.
Man with wooden sticks
One recurring feature in Coye's work is the motif of wooden sticks, often in latticeworkLatticework
Latticework is a framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a network...
-like patterns. This was inspired by a 1938 discovery in an abandoned farmhouse.
Coye had returned to the North Pitcher, New York, area where he spent much of his childhood. While wandering deep in the woods, Coye discovered an abandoned farmhouse. Boards and pieces of wood which had been set perpendicular to one another surrounded the site. Neither inside nor out could Coye find an explanation for the presence of these crossed sticks. In the years following, Coye remained interested in the significance of his discovery.
When Coye returned to the site in 1963, there was nothing left of the building or the sticks (the area had suffered severe flooding), and he never found out why the sticks were there or who it was that had arranged them in such a manner. Because of the strangeness of the entire experience, these forms never left Coye, and they appear in many of his paintings and illustrations.
The incident also inspired Coye's friend Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into...
to write the award-winning story "Sticks
Sticks (short story)
"Sticks" is a short story by horror fiction writer Karl Edward Wagner, first published in the March 1974 issue of Whispers. It has been reprinted in several anthologies, including the revised edition of Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, indicating that it is part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre.The...
". Image of Man with Wooden Sticks
Moby Dick sculpture
The crescent moonLunar phase
A lunar phase or phase of the moon is the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. The lunar phases change cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the changing relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun...
was an early Coye trademark in paintings and illustrations. The whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
became a later signature motif. Coye fashioned wooden sculptures, silver pendant
Pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. In modern French "pendant" is the gerund form of “hanging”...
s and pins, engravings, drawings, and a large painting of the whale. One very fine example is in the Morrisville State College Library collection the 3 foot (0.9144 m) pine "Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
" sculpture created in 1965. Image of Moby Dick Sculpture
Coye's fame as an illustrator of the macabre
Macabre
In works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
developed as a result of his drawings for Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, a popular pulp magazine. From 1945 to 1952, his covers and interior work captured images of horror and the supernatural. In the 1960 s, Coye's work appeared in such magazines as Fantastic and Amazing. Coye illustrated August Derleth
August Derleth
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
's horror story anthologies, Sleep No More, Who Knocks, and The Night Side, as well as the H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
collection, Three Tales of Horror, and two deluxe collections of pulp stories edited by Karl Edward Wagner and published by his imprint Carcosa
Carcosa
Carcosa is a fictional city in the Ambrose Bierce short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" . In Bierce's story, the ancient and mysterious city is barely described, and is viewed only in hindsight by a character who once lived there....
: Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman was an American writer. He is best known for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains and for drawing on the native folklore of that region, but he wrote in a wide variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, detective...
's Worse Things Waiting (1975) and Hugh B. Cave
Hugh B. Cave
Hugh Barnett Cave was a prolific writer of pulp fiction who also excelled in other genres.-Life:Born in Chester, England, Hugh B. Cave moved during his childhood with his family to Boston, Massachusetts, following the outbreak of World War I...
's Murgunstrumm and Others (1978). For his work in Worse Things Waiting, and again in 1976, Coye won the World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
for best artist.
Night Side cover
Although Coye is best known for his fantasy and horror illustrations, for more than fifty years his artistic output covered a much wider range. He was a watercolor, oil, and egg temperaTempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
painter, a muralist, a sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, a photographer, a silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
, and an able builder of models and dioramas. From rats and beetles and disfigured bodies, to whales, mythic figures, and landscapes, Coye's subjects are as diverse as the media in which he worked. All of his work was executed with expert craftsmanship, and exhibits the originality that sprang from his renowned imagination and sense of humor. Coye created paintings, sculpture, and jewelry that are as beautiful as his illustrations are macabre.
Image of Night Side cover
Coye's work is represented in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York, the Everson Museum in Syracuse, the Onondaga County Historical Society, Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
, the Morrisville State College Library, SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, and private collections.
Sources
This article is based on "Lee Brown Coye:Illustrator and Artist, in The Mage, Summer 1985". It is used and updated with permission of the copyright owner. Additional material is from Bill Drew.- Tammra Rayfield, "Lee Brown Coye: Illustrator and Artist, in The Mage, Summer 1985" with material added by Bill Drew
- Bill Drew, Associate Librarian, Morrisville College, Morrisville, NY, interview with Lee Brown Coye
External links
At the Lee Brown Coye Collection website:- The Catalog with images
- Miscellaneous including bookplates, greeting cards, and other miscellaneous works of Coye.
At other websites:
- Ortiz, Luis. Arts unknown : the life and art of Lee Brown Coye. New York : Nonstop Press, 2005.
- "This is the first full biography on this uniquely macabre and eccentric artist, and it will surprise many people unaware of his fine art, book illustrations, cartoon, and sculpture credentials. More than 350 illustrations, including never-before-published art." ISBN 1-933065-04-4 More Information
- Photos of Lee Brown Coye
- Transcript of Interview of Coye May 26, 1964.
- An interview of Lee Brown Coye conducted by Joseph Trovato.
- Coye speaks of the development of his style of painting; painting murals in Utica, New York; Thomas Hart Benton's influence on him; the importance of the Federal Art Project on his career and on the lives and work of other artists. Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
- 1998 Catalog of the Coye Collection. Printed for our 1998 show of selected works from our collection and the personal collection of Charles Westfall. PDF file.
- Lee Brown Coye Miscellany by Gene Magner,Fairfax, California,New Albion Bookshop, 1966. PDF file.
- The Vicar of Azay-Le-Rideau, by Honore de Balzac, Syracuse, NY, Braeside Press, Dec. 1937. Illustrated by Lee Brown Coye. Limited Edition. 1 of 500. PDF File.