Tuesday Art ATTACK- J.C. Leyendecker "A Real Happy New Year"

American artist J.C. Leyendecker was one of the most popular illustrators of the first half of last century. He was a prominent illustrator for Americas most popular magazine Saturday Evening Post. Leyendecker's most famous work for the Post was his Baby New Year paintings which he did for the cover every New Year from 1906 to 1943. Leyendecker helped popularize and create the Baby New Year as we know it today. After he was not asked to continue his Baby New Year series by the Saturday Evening Post he continued the series in advertisements for Amoco Gas Stations. The painting above was commissioned by Amoco Gas Stations and was his last Baby New Year painting. Leyendecker passed away in 1951 and the ad came out posthumously for New Years 1952.