[I was looking at some Western Story magazine covers and many I liked were done by H.W. Scott. I came across this article about him recently, and thought you might like to read it.]
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| Life Magazine, June 24, 1942 – Article about Harold Winfield Scott – Illustrator WHILE MODELS POSE. SCOTT PAINTS STAGECOACH SCENE FROM HIS BIG MESSY PALETTE. MALE MODEL. BILL FRANK, HAS POSED FOR HIM 15 YEARS. LIVES ON SCOTT’S RANCH |
HAROLD WINFIELD SCOTT IS A WHIRLWIND PAINTER OF ROOTIN’ TOOTIN’ COWBOYS
At Army camps and USO centers the most popular fiction today is detective stories and cowboy yarns. And the man who makes these rough, tough cowboys jump right off the page is Harold Winfield Scott, the world’s most prolific illustrator of Western magazines.
Scott puts on no airs of being a serious artist. Yet his slick cowboy art has the vitality and action that many a fancier artist lacks. Born in Montana 43 years ago, Scott says he learned to ride “anything that runs, walks or creeps.” He planned to be a pianist until he suffered two breaks in his right arm serving in the air force during World War 1. Now Scott has his own ranch in Croton Falls, N. Y. When he isn’t painting — Scott whips off at least one magazine cover a week — he and his two sons ride horseback, shoot, play cowboy in their ten-gallon hats.
Scott takes enormous pride in the accuracy of his art. For Texas scenes he ties his rope in a Texas “snub,’’ for rustling scenes he usually paints a steer on the left, because horses run faster on the right.
I have a run of the war time LIFE'S in my basement; I'll have to dig this issue out. I see this article buys into the old prejudice that illustrators are not serious artists, etc. In fact I once took a college course on Art Appreciation and the instructor flat out stated that illustrators are not artists at all. I collect original illustration art from the pulps and paperbacks and of course disagree.
I've seen some of those issues in the antique stores I occasionally visit. The size is definitely bigger than the picture I have, and there are 3 additional pictures in the article showing some more paintings, but not the artist at work. So I skipped them. Since you have the magazine, enjoy.
Scott was a prolific artist. Between 1936 and 1942, he appeared on at least one pulp cover each month. His average number of cover appearances in that period was about 3 and a half covers a month. Unbelievable, isn't it.
As for the distinction between art and illustration, I found myself nodding in agreement with this article:
http://illustrationart.blogspot.com/2011/10/old-question-finally-answered.html
There's a lot of great art there, too.
Thanks for posting this. I love Scott's covers for WESTERN STORY but didn't know a thing about him until now.
You're welcome, James.
See this article for more information on him.
My dad took art lessons from Scotty at the Keeler Farm in North Salem, NY for years in the 60s. My dad sometimes took me with him on those Saturdays. Scotty seemed very old, but now I realize he was in his mid 60s during that time. My dad's early work was, of course, western themed. My dad, Joseph Alve, did a portrait of Mr. Scott which I gave to the North Salem Historical Society when I was cleaning out my parent's home in 2010.
Thanks for sharing the memories. Wonderful. If you remember anything else or come across a photo from those days, you can share it with us via email. pulpflakes (AT) gmail (DOT) com.
I was in an art class in 1950 at The White Elephant in 1950 in North Salem. I believe it was sponsored by North Salem Elementary which burned down in 1961. Mr. Scott challenged us to find an error in one of his paintings with many many horses. No one found it until he pointed out that one horse had 5 legs. He was very gracious and kind to all even those like myself with no talent. N. Harris.