By the time Ben Stahl painted these pieces for The Saturday Evening Post in 1944 his career was well under way. According to Walt Reed's Illustrator in America, Stahl had begun working as an errand boy and apprentice at a Chicago art studio at age 17. Five years later he was working as a full-fledged staff artist.
Advertising art lead to his being noticed by the Post's editors, who assigned Stahl his first story illustration in 1937. Over the next thirty years he would go on to illustrate over 750 stories for The Post and many other major magazines.
Very nice lighting in this piece. Those strong 'blacks' really anchor the figures in the space.
ReplyDeleteLove the woman's expression too.
It is a really strong piece, Dom - I agree... reminds me a bit of Al Dorne, not someone I usually think of when I see Stahl's work.
ReplyDelete