Edward A. Wilson (illustrator)

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Edward A. Wilson
Born
Edward Arthur Wilson

(1886-03-04)March 4, 1886
DiedOctober 2, 1970(1970-10-02) (aged 84)
NationalityAmerican
EducationArt Institute of Chicago
Known forBook and magazine illustrations

Edward Arthur Wilson (March 4, 1886 – October 2, 1970) was an American illustrator, printmaker and commercial artist best known for his book and magazine illustrations.

Early life[edit]

Wilson was born on March 4, 1886, in Glasgow, Scotland;[1] one of two sons born to Edward J. Wilson and Euphemia E. Murray.[2][3] In 1893, the family emigrated to the United States and by no later than 1900, the family had settled in Chicago.[2] Edward attended the Art Institute of Chicago, and later studied with illustrator Howard Pyle.[1][4]

Career[edit]

In 1921, Wilson designed the cover for William McFee's An Engineer's Notebook. His first full-length project was Iron Men and Wooden Ships (1924), a collection of sailor shanties edited by author and bookseller Frank Shay. Over the next two decades, Wilson illustrated many classic novels, including Robinson Crusoe (1930), The Man Without a Country (1936), Treasure Island (1941), and Jane Eyre (1944). Later, he produced illustrations for magazines and a number of World War II propaganda posters; a number of these are included in Thomas Craven's The Book of Edward A. Wilson (1948).[5] In 1945, Wilson's work was featured in Life Magazine.[1][6]

Personal life[edit]

Wilson was married to Jane Roe and they had two daughters, one of whom was the actress Perry Wilson.[1]

Death[edit]

On October 2, 1970, after a long struggle with an undisclosed illness, Wilson died at the age of 84 in Dobbs Ferry.

Works[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Shay, Frank, ed. Iron Men and Wooden Ships. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company.
  • Rogers, Cameron, ed. (1925). Full and By; Being a Collection of Verses by Persons of Quality with Designs to Fit All Humours. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company.
  • Dana, Richard Henry (1930). Two Years Before the Mast. Chicago: Lakeside Press.
  • Attiwill, Ken (1931). Windjammer. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company.[7]
  • DeFoe, Daniel (1930). Robinson Crusoe. New York: Heritage Press.
  • Fennimore, Daniel (1932) Last of the Mohicans. Avon, Conn: Heritage Press.
  • Hudson, William Henry (1935). Green Mansions. New York: Limited Editions Club.[8]
  • Loomis, Alfred Loomis (1939). Ranging the Main Coast. New York: Norton.
  • McMurtrie, Douglas C.; Farran, Don; Wilson, Edward A., illustrations (1940). Wings for Words. New York: Rand, McNally & Company.
  • Wilson, Edward; Wright Marine Collection (1941). Blow High, Blow Low. New York: American Artists Group. OCLC 1057086125.[9]
  • Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth; Candy, Henry Seidel (1947). Favorite Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company.
  • Shay, Frank, ed. (1948). American Sea Songs and Chanteys. New York: W.W. Norton.[10]
  • Mathers, Edward Powys; Mardrus, J. C.; Forester, Cecil Scott (1949). The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Volume 1. New York: Limited Editions Club.[11]

Magazines[edit]

Collections[edit]

Wilson's work is held in the following permanent collection:

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Edward Wilson, Illustrator, 84". The New York Times. October 3, 1970. ProQuest 117869630.
  2. ^ a b "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSQB-G41 : 13 January 2022), E A Wilson in entry for Edward J Wilson, 1900.
  3. ^ "Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7HL-2PV : 10 March 2018), Edward J. Wilson in entry for Harold F. Wilson, 14 Apr 1894; citing e 18668 p 374, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,287,740.
  4. ^ Junker, Patricia; McCandless, Barbara; Myers, Jane; Rohrbach, John; Stewart, Rick (2001). An American Collection: Works from the Amon Carter Museum. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 244. ISBN 1-55595-198-8.
  5. ^ "The Greenwich Village Bookstore Door: A Portal to Bohemia, 1920–1925". Harry Ransom Center.
  6. ^ "Art: Illustrator Edward A. Wilson Interprets Adventure Books". Life. April 23, 1945. p. 57–60.
  7. ^ "From the jacket designed by Edward A. Wilson for 'Windjammer'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1931. p. 48.
  8. ^ Library of Congress (1936). Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1935. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. p. 1038.
  9. ^ "Books and Authors". The New York Times. September 21, 1941 p. BR14. "The American Artists Group, 106 7th Avenue, New York City, is bringing out a boxed set of ten little gift books. Four are for children; [...] The other six include [...] 'Blow High, Blow Low,' a collection of five sea chanties, illustrated by Edward Wilson, who also contributes a poem of his own... "
  10. ^ C.S. (December 1948). "Books: American Sea Songs and Chanteys". Musical America. p. 33.
  11. ^ "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor, Volume 1". Google Books.
  12. ^ "Artist Info". www.nga.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-07.

Further reading[edit]

Articles[edit]

Books[edit]

External links[edit]