He was, of course, talking about the Cooper "clinch" artists who had come to dominate the pages of women's - and most mainstream - magazines. There were certainly some excellent story artists working during that time, but one who is less well known is Rudy Pott.
I haven't found a lot of work by Pott, but what I have found has always been of the action/adventure type and, in my opinion, a bit reminiscent of Sickles' work. Some artists excelled at quiet romantic scenes while others were called upon for their ability to capture exciting moments of dynamic aggression. Rudy Pott clearly fell into the latter category - with gusto!
Pott did competent but unspectacular art for the Post in the 1940's, but his work during the 50's displays a confidence and maturity that speaks of an artist who has come into his own. Even a non-action scene like the one below has an admirable quality of composition and execution that creates a visual tension even Noel Sickles could have appreciated.
There are eight images you can see at full size in my Rudy Pott Flickr set.
Love the angle and lighting of the bottom piece. Nice mood also.
ReplyDeleteYup - I'm with you on that, Dom. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have an original painting on ?board? signed by Rudy Pott. On back is "No. P2277" "Number of pictures - 2" , "publication in Saturday Evening Post", and the title (hard to read) something like Creech xxxx Crossing" , 2 boats in swamp-type location, people on board, action, helicopter in background, appears to be some kind of escape from gunfire by smugglers, or ??
ReplyDeleteIf you would like to see a photo of this item, I'd be glad to send it to you. We have always wondered how this item came to Nebraska.
Purchased by my brother in 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and given to me.