John Dukes McKee (1899-1956)

John Dukes McKee, one of the Hoosier State's fine unsung illustrators, created works of great charm, warmth, and nostalgia during a career that proved too brief. He was born in Kokomo, Indiana, on December 4, 1899, and studied at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, at the Art Institute of Chicago, and in Paris. The earliest of McKee's work that I have found is a series of one-page illustrations for Child Life magazine published from 1926 to 1932. McKee also drew pictures for children's books, including Big and Little Brother by Gustav Av Geijerstam (1930), Circus Babies by Elizabeth Gale (1930), and The Big Show by Mary Baskerville (1932). Other Worlds Than This by Elena Fontany (1930) is worth special mention for its early depiction--at least in children's literature--of a trip into space, albeit by way of a monoplane that looks very much like The Spirit of St. Louis. By the time he drew the pictures for Miss Fontany's book, McKee had already begun working in a black-and-white style harking back to an era when illustrators labored over woodcuts and type was set by hand. He may well have been influenced by Gaar Williams (1880-1935), an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago, a fellow Hoosier, and fervent in his attachment to days gone by.

After World War II, McKee became a self-described "purveyor of nostalgia," creating historical illustrations for advertising agencies and publishers. Often working in scratchboard, a medium mimicking the look of the old-time woodcut, McKee drew pictures for books on history and folklore, including My American Heritage, compiled by Ralph Henry and Lucille Pannell (1949), and American Riddles in Rhyme by Ruby Bradford Murphy (1955). Lucky Year (1951), written by Dorothy Aldis and illustrated by McKee, is set in the artist's home state. Although McKee often signed his work with his full name, he was also "Mr. McKee" to readers of children's books and magazines. Mister McKee created a charming piece of artwork for the cover of the children’s magazine Treasure Trails for October 1955. His colorful rocketship was a far cry from the monoplane of twenty-five years before. (See below.)

In 1949 the Illinois Northern Utilities Company commissioned McKee to paint fifty northern Illinois landmarks. Crisscrossing the state in search of old railroad cars, schoolhouses, and windmills, McKee captured the prairie landscape in luminous, vibrant watercolor. His colorful and impeccably done landscapes and genre paintings also showed up in Ford Times magazine during the early 1950s.

McKee apparently lived in the Chicago area for much of his life. He died too young, at age fifty-six, on June 25, 1956, in Lagrange, Illinois, leaving a widow, two daughters, and three grandchildren behind. McKee's great granddaughter, artist Harmony Eberhardt, is archiving his work. You can find some of his original art at the Batavia Public Library in Batavia, Illinois.

An activity page, one of John Dukes McKee's specialties, from Child Life magazine (1931).

One of McKee's historical illustrations, a scratchboard drawing of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. This drawing is from the late 1940s or early 1950s.

Mail delivery on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, as depicted by John Dukes McKee in Ford Times magazine, October 1950.

Treasure Trails, The Magazine of the Children's Hour, from October 1955, with a cover by "Mister McKee."

Text and captions copyright 2010, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

Clare Angell (1874-?)

Cartoonist, designer, and illustrator Clare Eugene Angell was born on March 4, 1874, in Lansing, Michigan. He was the son of a banker who became insolvent in 1883. The Angell family may very well have come apart after that. In her book, Art and Artists of Indiana (1921), Mary Q. Burnet listed Angell as being a native of Goshen, Indiana. Clare Angell's uncle lived in Goshen, as did his mother as of 1900. Clare Angell may very well have lived in that northern Indiana city in his youth.

The problem of Angell's place of residence in his youth is indicative of his biography in general. Not much is known of his life or career. For a time he was on the staff of the New York Press, where he was recognized as a talented cartoonist and caricaturist. Angell also drew pictures of daily news events for the paper, especially when he could give them a humorous slant. His work earned him mention in the Encyclopedia Britannica under the entry "Caricature."

During the early 1900s, Angell illustrated stories and articles for popular magazines, including The Boys' Magazine, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, The Illustrated Companion, and Outing. He also drew pictures for many popular novels beginning as early as 1902 with The Girl Who Wrote by Alan Dale and continuing through a number of books for young readers, including three in the Boy Scouts series printed by Saalfield. Angell also illustrated novels by Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth and A.W. Marchmont, as well as several volumes about World War I. Look today on the Internet among postcard collectors and you’re sure to find Angell's very fine color and half-tone designs, especially for Halloween and Christmas cards, often at very high prices.

As of 1921, Angell was still living, though widowed. His home was in Forest Hills Gardens, Long Island (Queens), one of the nation's oldest planned communities, founded in 1908 and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. The community's park-like setting and collection of Tudor and Georgian homes must have been conducive to the work of an artist, but I have not been able to find any of Angell's work from after 1921. The Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay, Ohio, houses some of his original art.

In anticipation of the end of the world, scheduled for Dec. 21, 2012, Indiana Illustrators presents Clare Angell's depiction of a shower of meteors falling on New York City, taken from an article called "How the World Will End" by Hudson Maxim, "The Well-Known Inventor and Scientist." The date is 1902, the source, an unknown magazine. Note the artist's distinctive signature. (Update [Jan. 17, 2020]: "How the World Will End" by Hudson Maxim was in the August 1902 issue of Women's Home Companion. Thanks to Lynne D. Henson in the comments below for the information.)

A poor reproduction of a lovely postcard design by Clare Angell, who did work for Gottschalk, Dreyfuss and Davis and probably other postcard makers of his day.

Updated on April 30, 2011, and on January 30, 2013.

Text and captions copyright 2010, 2024 by Terence E. Hanley