Rico Tomaso
Encyclopedia
Rico Tomaso was an illustrator
and painter
. His works were featured in magazines, novels, and sold as paintings and lithograph prints.
In his youth, Tomaso played the piano
for a dance orchestra in which he met drummer
Dean Cornwell
, who also became a famous illustrator and an influence on Tomaso's own style. Illustration historian Walt Reed wrote that Tomaso's "work mostly resembled Cornwell's in concept and broad brush style."
John T. McCutcheon
, a family friend and cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune
, encouraged Tomaso's artistic talent. Tomaso studied at the Art Institute of Chicago
with J. Wellington Reynolds. He also studied at the Art Students League of New York
with teachers including Dean Cornwell, Robert Henri
and Harvey Dunn
.
and The Saturday Evening Post
. He was at his best illustrating tales of high adventure, including the Albert Richard Wetjen stories about the Mounted Police
of South Australia
, or mysteries, such as Rex Stout
's Nero Wolfe
novel The League of Frightened Men
. As a fine artist he was represented by the Grand Central Art Galleries
and by Jean Bohne, Inc., in New York.
Tomaso taught at the Grand Central School of Art
, taking the classes of Harvey Dunn
when the class was moved to Mamaroneck, New York
.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. His works were featured in magazines, novels, and sold as paintings and lithograph prints.
In his youth, Tomaso played the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
for a dance orchestra in which he met drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Dean Cornwell
Dean Cornwell
Dean Cornwell was an American illustrator and muralist. His oil paintings were frequently featured in popular magazines and books as literary illustrations, advertisements, and posters promoting the war effort. Throughout the first half of the 20th century he was a dominant presence in American...
, who also became a famous illustrator and an influence on Tomaso's own style. Illustration historian Walt Reed wrote that Tomaso's "work mostly resembled Cornwell's in concept and broad brush style."
John T. McCutcheon
John T. McCutcheon
John Tinney McCutcheon was an American newspaper political cartoonist who was known as the "Dean of American Cartoonists"....
, a family friend and cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, encouraged Tomaso's artistic talent. Tomaso studied at 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...
with J. Wellington Reynolds. He also studied at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
with teachers including Dean Cornwell, Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
and Harvey Dunn
Harvey Dunn
Harvey Thomas Dunn was an American painter. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, The Prairie is My Garden. In this painting, a mother and her son and daughter are out gathering flowers from the quintessential prairie of the Great Plains.-Early life:Dunn was born on a homestead...
.
Works
As an illustrator in New York, Tomaso worked for clients such as Granger Pipe Tobacco and frequently contributed to such periodicals as the Ladies' Home JournalLadies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
and The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
. He was at his best illustrating tales of high adventure, including the Albert Richard Wetjen stories about the Mounted Police
Mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, or mysteries, such as Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
's Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
novel The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post under the title The Frightened Men. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
. As a fine artist he was represented by the Grand Central Art Galleries
Grand Central Art Galleries
The Grand Central Art Galleries were the exhibition and administrative space of the nonprofit Painters and Sculptors Gallery Association, an artists' cooperative established in 1922 by Walter Leighton Clark together with John Singer Sargent, Edmund Greacen, and others...
and by Jean Bohne, Inc., in New York.
Tomaso taught at the Grand Central School of Art
Grand Central School of Art
The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1923 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. The school was established and run by the Grand Central Art Galleries, an artists' cooperative founded by Sargent, Greacen,...
, taking the classes of Harvey Dunn
Harvey Dunn
Harvey Thomas Dunn was an American painter. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, The Prairie is My Garden. In this painting, a mother and her son and daughter are out gathering flowers from the quintessential prairie of the Great Plains.-Early life:Dunn was born on a homestead...
when the class was moved to Mamaroneck, New York
Mamaroneck (village), New York
Mamaroneck is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 18,929 at the 2010 census. It is located partially within the town of Mamaroneck and partially within the town of Rye. The portion in Rye is unofficially called "Rye Neck"...
.