Howard Chandler Christy (1873 - 1952) Works
Howard Chandler Christy (1873 – 1952)
Born in Ohio on January 10, 1873, Howard Chandler Christy moved to New York in 1890 to attend the National Academy of Design and Art Students League, where he became a student of William Merritt Chase. A change in publishing practices at the end of the 19th century moved illustration technology from engraving to photo-mechanical reproduction, creating a rise in magazine publications. This boom in commercial publishing brought many artists to the field of illustration, including Christy.
With the start of the Spanish-American War, Christy offered to join the war effort in a documentarian manner. He illustrated the battles he witnessed on the frontlines to accompany articles detailing the war in such magazines as Scribner’s, Harper’s, and Leslie’s Weekly. His “Rough Riders” series was particularly popular and allowed Christy to become an acquaintance of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, whose portrait Christy illustrated for the cover of Scribner’s. By the time Christy returned to New York from the war in 1898, he was a commercial success. His piece, “The Soldier’s Dream”, an image of a patriotic woman published in Scribner’s, marked a shift in Christy’s subjects and the creation of the “Christy Girl”. The “Christy Girl” became the successor of Charles Dana Gibson’s “Gibson Girl” as a model for the ideal American woman, marked by elegance, confidence, and athleticism. As the “Christy Girl” gained popularity in the media, Christy became a trendsetter in women’s fashion and lifestyle.
In 1908, Christy returned to Ohio and expanded his childhood home, “The Barracks” to accommodate a studio, where he worked on his magazine commissions. By 1915 he had returned to New York, but with the onset of World War I, Christy once again offered his services to the cause. He began producing posters for government war bonds, the Red Cross, Navy, Marines, and civilian volunteer efforts.
With the United States' financial prosperity in the 1920s, a large market for expensive portraiture arose. Christy began painting portraits for political figures, royalty, media magnates, war heroes, and celebrities. One such portrait, of First Lady Grace Coolidge, currently hangs in the China Room of the White House. However, after the Market Crash of 1929, Christy, like many others, was depressed and desperate for work. Christy eventually turned to mural painting to help keep him from financial ruin. His most successful mural was a series of nude female nymphs adorning the walls of a restaurant on the ground floor of his building in New York City.
After the Great Depression, Christy became a famed painter of historical and allegorical scenes. In the 1940s, he reached several career milestones, most notably “The Signing of the Constitution of the United States” which now hangs in the East Stairwell of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Capitol. Howard Chandler Christy died in New York on March 3, 1952.
Image Source: Lafayette College Special Collection and Archives