1873 - 1952

For Howard Chandler Christy it was a long road from Ohio and watching steamboats on the Muskingum River to painting Presidents, society’s grand dames, Hollywood stars and Army Generals. Christy arrived in New York in 1890, to attend the Art Students League where he studied with William Merritt Chase. At that time, great technological advances were being made in publishing and Christy sensed that a new field was opening - providing illustrations for burgeoning new periodicals. Reproduction technologies had evolved to the point where engravings were no longer the only tedious and expensive means to reproduce a painting. These new technological innovations inspired this needy young artist to turn to illustration as a profession. His first project was illustrating a manuscript for In Camphor by Frank Crowninshield, which after completing, other book commissions rolled-in thereafter. After a single book, he was established as a professional illustrator.

Christy was patriotically moved by the explosion of the Battleship ‘Maine’ and signed-on to cover the Spanish-American War. Accompanying the Rough Riders under fire, he illustrated articles published by Scribner's, Harpers, Century, and Leslie’s Weekly to the utter delight of readers back home. In the process of covering the war, Christy befriended Col. Theodore Roosevelt and gained an even broader interest in patriotic subjects. By the time he returned home in 1898, he was a celebrity. His fame and reputation were truly secured with ‘The Soldier's Dream’ published in Scribner's where he portrayed a beautiful girl who soon became known as ‘The Christy Girl.’ Like ‘The Gibson Girl,’ she was a prototype for the ideal American woman, “High bred, aristocratic and dainty though not always silken-skirted; a woman with tremendous self respect." From this point forward, Christy painted beautiful women for McClure's and other popular magazines. Calendars and book illustrations, some that he authored, such as The Christy Girl, and The American Girl, expanding his audience exponentially. They combined to make his notion of a beautiful girl, everyone’s criteria thereafter. In 1908, he returned to the riverbanks of the Muskingum River and enlarged 'The Barracks' (his childhood home), by adding a studio. In spite of being so far away from the mainstream, publishers beat their way to his door. By 1910, his commission rates had reached an astounding $1,000 per week.

In 1915, Christy returned to New York and continued on his career path with magazine commissions. As war once again appeared imminent, Christy rallied his talents to assist in the war effort by painting posters for government war bonds, the Red Cross, Navy, Marines, and civilian volunteer efforts.  His famous poster of a young woman dressed in a sailors uniform with the caption, “If I were a man, I would join the Navy”, is a classic.