SOME THOUGHTS ON MARK ENGLISH (1933- 2019)

The great illustrator Mark English, who played a dominant role in American illustration for decades, passed away on August 8.

Through a rare combination of moxie and creative talent, English worked his way from picking cotton in the fields near Hubbard Texas for $1.50 per day to becoming a nationally renowned illustrator who received more awards from the Society of Illustrators than any other artist. 

He was the last remaining member of a small band of artists who clawed their way up from small towns, secured low paying jobs in Detroit working on car ads, and from that rigorous training ground launched hugely successful free lance careers.  That path is now closed to young artists, but while it was still available, audacious young talent such as English, Bernie Fuchs and Bob Heindel were able to distinguish themselves and come to the attention of the top art directors in the country.

Like Fuchs and Heindel, English took big gambles.  I've previously quoted his recollections of the chances he took moving his young family from Detroit to become an illustrator in Connecticut:

I had moved to Connecticut and in my first year there I made 20% of the salary that I had made in my last year.... It was a tough year and I had a lot of time on my hands.  I think not having much work enhanced my career more than anything else.  I spent a lot of time experimenting, trying to come up with something unique and different, and I think toward the end of that year I managed to do that on a job for the Readers Digest [for the book, Little Women]....I think that three or four of the illustrations were accepted into the Society's annual exhibition that year.  One of them won an award and got me a little attention.  After that I got into magazines and my career was launched.

English recalled that during that dry spell he went eight months without getting a single assignment. His wife became worried as money became very tight but he wouldn't turn back. "I think [it was] the best thing that ever happened to me, but at the time I didn't think so.... I don't think that I ever worked harder at anytime than I did during those eight months, trying to get better and be more competitive."

When the lucrative illustration market began to dry up, like Fuchs and Heindel English didn't quit or become paralyzed with fear.  He boldly pushed forward in new directions and became a highly successful gallery painter.

English was the last of a truly remarkable generation of artists in America.  He made excellent use of his years so that, in the words of John Milton, he could present a true account of his talents to his maker.  For this, he deserves to be remembered and celebrated.  I highly recommend his biography by Jill Bossert.

DISAPPEARING INTO FOG

The esteemed illustrator Robert Andrew Parker is 92 years old, and his vision has become so poor he can no longer read or draw from a model.  Still, he goes to his studio every day and paints from imagination and memory.  This is his recent painting, "Plane Disappearing Into Fog."

Parker had a long, prolific career before macular degeneration began stripping him of his precious eyesight.  I especially like his etchings-- rich, imaginative works with strong compositions.  They take full advantage of the grainy textures and special "look" of the etching medium, something very unusual for the field of illustration.

Parker also made some striking images expressing his political views:

Most people regard eyesight as the crucial requirement for a visual artist, but there are other compensating qualities that can help to offset diminishing sight.  One is imagination.  Here is Parker's recent painting of a dogfight between a plane and a bug:

Another is the strength of character to continue working at age 92.

I've previously quoted Tennyson's famous poem, Ulysses, which describes the hero's resolve, at the end of a long life of adventure, to set out once again. He rousts his aging comrades to accompany him to see if "some work of noble note may yet be done."

Ulysses admits that old age has robbed his crew of much, yet he glories in what still "abides":  

 Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

R.I.P. MAD MAGAZINE-- POSTSCRIPT

Better than words could convey, this illustration from today's New York Times demonstrates the significance of the passing of the era of MAD:

After a week enjoying examples on this blog of the beautiful craftsmanship of the MAD artists, this drawing in the Times feels like a nutmeg grater on the eyes.

The fact that such a mishap was selected by the New York Times to illustrate the end of MAD reveals more about today's audiences than perhaps the paper intended.  MAD was irreverent yet it revered good drawing. The "usual gang of idiots" was never the "gang of lazy slobs."  They had high standards, excellent taste and they worked their asses off-- a trifecta that enabled them to clobber dozens of competitors, decade after decade. 

If MAD must depart, perhaps it is partially because audiences such as the NYT readership no longer understand, or even care about, standards in the visual arts.

A GALLERY OF MORT DRUCKER ART FROM MAD MAGAZINE

For my final gallery of art from the late beloved MAD Magazine, I've chosen the brilliant Mort Drucker.

Drucker's talent graced the pages of MAD for 50 years. Looking back, his long legacy seems almost supernatural.  

The Godfather

The Godfather

The Godfather

Drucker always said he loved his job.  There's no other way to explain the overflowing generosity of his drawing or his sustained high standards.

Most other cartoonists would draw this next panel with just the two heads of the speakers.  Drucker added twelve additional figures and a complex background, just for kicks.

Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice.  Unlike other caricaturists, Drucker had to draw multiple likenesses of each face with expressions that matched whatever was happening in the scripts he was given.

Beverly Hills Cops

Patton: even the tanks are drawn at a jaunty angle

MAD Magazine will be forever enshrined in the annals of great and important American magazines.  As we've seen, many excellent artists contributed to that reputation.  But in my opinion, no one contributed more than the great Mort Drucker.

A GALLERY OF JACK DAVIS ART FROM MAD MAGAZINE

Jack Davis was a star in the MAD Magazine firmament from the very first issue.  Davis was 25 years old, with a fearless ink brush and a precocious talent for converting a human being into a splat.  (This was an important skill for the infant magazine).

Davis could work simultaneously for MAD and several other comics because he was fast as lightning.  Bill Gaines and Harvey Kurtzman recalled Davis penciling and inking three or more entire pages in a day.

Here for your enjoyment is a selection of lovely drawings by Davis spread across many years of MAD:

In later years, Davis simplified and streamlined his work for MAD.  He applied tones through loose washes rather than tight cross hatching.

Yet, the pictures usually retained Davis' underlying quality.

Another brilliant artist selected for the formidable MAD talent pool.

A GALLERY OF PAUL COKER ART FROM MAD MAGAZINE

Paul Coker's art was not as broad or slapstick as the art of most other MAD artists, but in his own quiet way he was every bit as brilliant. 

Look at this lovely little drawing of a boy standing. He's not being carried off by a gorilla or balancing a ball on his nose.  Yet, Coker keeps his subject from being dull and symmetrical by adding a dozen charming touches: notice the unusual shape of the bottom of his sweat shirt, or the interesting shape of his collar, how only one pant leg is rolled up and the other has a patch.  Notice the confidence of Coker's folds over the boy's stomach or at his elbow.  

In an era when the New Yorker features a bevy of untalented cover artists who use lifeless mechanical circles for heads, look at how much sensitivity Coker puts into this "almost' circle head-- the subtlety of that chin, those little boy cheeks, the treatment of that vacant ear, the shape of that hat-- all before you even get to that marvelous facial expression described in so few lines.  In my opinion, Coker's better than all of them.

Another splendid drawing now shows the boy in motion.  Notice how beautifully Coker captures the running figure, with those over-sized shoes kicking up pebbles.

You won't find the silhouette of that leg and disjointed ankle in any anatomy book.

If you have any question about how many of the subtle touches in that figure are intentional, look at the way Coker used white paint to trim back that shoe on the left.  He felt that 1/64 of an inch made enough difference that it was worth going back to tweak.  Clearly Coker is performing micro-surgery in these drawings.

It's to MAD's credit that, amidst all the clang and clatter of the Don Martin and Al Jaffee and Prohias, it appreciated the quiet brilliance of Coker.

Here's a gallery of other Coker drawings, enlarged so you can better see what he was up to.

Note how Coker handles the small boy clinging to his mother's leg: no eyes, just nostrils and a very unusually shaped mouth.  There are great powers of observation and great artistic courage in these small choices.

The father's eyes might be a predictable facial expression, but his nervous smile is quite an innovative design. 
And dig those shoes!

A GALLERY OF WALLY WOOD ART FROM MAD MAGAZINE

Wally Wood's art is guilty of some of the same flaws I've criticized in other artists.  His figure drawings retain some stiffness and anatomical awkwardness; there can be an excess of detail and a lack of prioritization; particularly in later years he could draw with a heavy hand and recycle gimmicks.

Yet, Wood's redeeming talents are so original and weird and bountiful, they more than offset any mere technical inadequacies.  Wood did some of his best work for MAD.  In honor of the late great MAD Magazine, let's revisit some examples of Wood's humorous art:

Here are some examples of preliminary sketches contrasted with final art for Wood's wonderful story, "What Do You Do For A Living, Daddy?"

Who could draw children like Wood?

Some of Wood's best works for MAD portrayed the annoyances and micro-aggressions of middle class existence in the 1950s.  He would frequently pack his backgrounds full of strange goings on:

A day at the beach

Relatives come to dine.  Note Frankenstein and the Wolf Man

Often these background drawings were published in a size too small for MAD readers to understand and appreciate.  I'm reproducing them here in a size that I hope will allow you to enjoy Wood's stream of consciousness drawing.

Wood also did a great job depicting the Madison Ave. executives of the 1950s and 60s who would later be depicted on the show,  Mad Men.

   
Finally, here are a few more examples of Wood's characters: