Description

Joseph Christian Leyendecker Living Mannequin The Saturday Evening Post cover 1932

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Signature: Signed lower right: JC Leyendecker

Living Mannequin sold at the U.S. War Bond at the United States Treasury-Saturday Evening Post War Bond Show. This event toured sixteen cities with over 1.2 million attendees and featured Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms, inspiring donations and enlistments as well as numerous other famous Saturday Evening Post illustrations. At this specific show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was an all-day event including a parade through the Golden Triangle, a vaudeville show, and numerous celebrities in attendance including Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and Lucille Ball. At Pittsburgh alone, The Saturday Evening Post War Bond Show raised an astounding $87 million, the equivalent of $1.1 billion today. This active relationship of illustrations, the publications, and the general population highlights the importance and influence of illustrators during this pivotal moment in United States history.