John Alcorn (artist)
Encyclopedia
John Alcorn was an American
commercial artist and designer
, and an illustrator
of children's books. In addition to his accomplishments in the areas of packaging, corporate and dimensional design, Alcorn designed the opening titles for several Federico Fellini
films. During his career, Alcorn created numerous book jackets and paperback covers, and his work appeared in many major exhibits.
er, John Alcorn was born in Corona
, Queens
, in 1935. When he was five years old, his family moved to Great Neck
, Long Island. He was educated in the local schools. He studied graphic arts at The Cooper Union
. During his first two years at Cooper Union, he studied drawing
, calligraphy
, architecture
, the mechanics of typography
, and dimensional design. In his last year his studies consisted of illustration
, graphics
and advertising design
.
magazine, a brief stint with a pharmaceutical advertising agency, and sound training at the Push Pin Studios
, the celebrated design studio founded by Milton Glaser
, Seymour Chwast
, Reynold Ruffins
, and Edward Sorel
. In 1958 Alcorn joined CBS Radio
and subsequently the CBS-TV art department, but a year later he decided to freelance exclusively. In 1962 Alcorn designed and illustrated Books! by Murray McCain, which was selected as one of the best fifty books of the year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts
. Besides book illustrations, Alcorn designed numerous paperback covers, jackets, and promotion materials.
, New York
, where he lived with his wife Phyllis, and their four sons. In 1971 he moved with his family to Florence
, Italy
. In 1977 he returned with his family to the United States, settling in Cold Spring, New York
. In 1983 Alcorn and his wife moved to Hamburg Cove in Lyme, Connecticut
.
in Paris
, the Castello Sforzesco
in Milan
, and the Venice Biennale
. It was included in the Push Pin Studios Retrospective Show at the Louvre
, in March 1970. Alcorn's works are included in the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota
.
, and Cooper Union. In 1968 he won first prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair
. He was the recipient of the prestigious Augustus Saint-Gaudens Medal from Cooper Union
. In 1970, he was selected as the first graphic artist to be Artist-In-Residence at Dartmouth College
. In 1987 he was Artist-In-Residence at the Maryland Institute College of Art
. Other awards include:
He also illustrated and designed numerous book jackets and paperback covers, two print catalogs, and contributed illustrations to many periodicals, including McCall's, Playboy
, and Sports Illustrated
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
commercial artist and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, and an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
of children's books. In addition to his accomplishments in the areas of packaging, corporate and dimensional design, Alcorn designed the opening titles for several Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
films. During his career, Alcorn created numerous book jackets and paperback covers, and his work appeared in many major exhibits.
Early life and education
A native New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
er, John Alcorn was born in Corona
Corona, Queens
Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, in 1935. When he was five years old, his family moved to Great Neck
Great Neck, New York
The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...
, Long Island. He was educated in the local schools. He studied graphic arts at The Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
. During his first two years at Cooper Union, he studied drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, the mechanics of typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, and dimensional design. In his last year his studies consisted of illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
, graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
and advertising design
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
.
Career
Alcorn's early career included work in the art department of EsquireEsquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine, a brief stint with a pharmaceutical advertising agency, and sound training at the Push Pin Studios
Push Pin Studios
Push Pin Studios is a graphic design and illustration studio formed in New York City in 1954. Cooper Union graduates Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, and Edward Sorel founded the studio....
, the celebrated design studio founded by Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser is a graphic designer, best known for the I Love New York logo, his "Bob Dylan" poster, the "DC bullet" logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the "Brooklyn Brewery" logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.-Biography:Glaser was born into a Hungarian...
, Seymour Chwast
Seymour Chwast
Seymour Chwast an American graphic designer, illustrator, and type designer.Chwast was born in Bronx, New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union in 1951. With Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins, he founded Push Pin Studios in 1954...
, Reynold Ruffins
Reynold Ruffins
Reynold Ruffins is an African American painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. With Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Seymour Chwast, Ruffins founded Push Pin Studios in 1954...
, and Edward Sorel
Edward Sorel
Edward Sorel is an illustrator, caricaturist, cartoonist, and graphic designer.Sorel is noted for his wavy pen-and-ink style, which he describes as "spontaneous direct drawing," since he does not use pencil or tracing for guidance...
. In 1958 Alcorn joined CBS Radio
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and subsequently the CBS-TV art department, but a year later he decided to freelance exclusively. In 1962 Alcorn designed and illustrated Books! by Murray McCain, which was selected as one of the best fifty books of the year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts
American Institute of Graphic Arts
AIGA is an American professional organization for design. Organized in 1914, AIGA currently has more than 22,000 members throughout 66 chapters and more than 200 student groups nationwide...
. Besides book illustrations, Alcorn designed numerous paperback covers, jackets, and promotion materials.
Personal life
Following graduation from Cooper Union, Alcorn married and in 1962 settled in OssiningOssining (town), New York
Ossining is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 37,674 at the 2010 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he lived with his wife Phyllis, and their four sons. In 1971 he moved with his family to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In 1977 he returned with his family to the United States, settling in Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a village located in the Town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York. The population was 1,983 at the 2000 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville...
. In 1983 Alcorn and his wife moved to Hamburg Cove in Lyme, Connecticut
Lyme, Connecticut
Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,016 at the 2000 census. Lyme and its neighboring town Old Lyme are the namesake for Lyme disease.-Geography:...
.
Exhibitions and collections
Alcorn's work has been exhibited at the LouvreLouvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.-History:...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
. It was included in the Push Pin Studios Retrospective Show at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, in March 1970. Alcorn's works are included in the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
Awards
Alcorn received awards from the New York Art Directors Club, the Society of IllustratorsSociety of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
, and Cooper Union. In 1968 he won first prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair
Bologna Children's Book Fair
The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world.Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy...
. He was the recipient of the prestigious Augustus Saint-Gaudens Medal from Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
. In 1970, he was selected as the first graphic artist to be Artist-In-Residence at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. In 1987 he was Artist-In-Residence at the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
. Other awards include:
- New York Times choice of Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year
- 1962 for Books!
- 1966, for Wonderful Time
- Fifty Books of the Year, American Institute of Graphic Arts, 1963, for Books!
- first prize BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
Children's Book Fair, 1968 - Augustus St. Gaudens Medal, The Cooper Union, 1970
Illustration work
Books illustrated by Alcorn are all for children, except as indicated.- Murray McCain, Books! (nonfiction), J. Cape, 1962
- Al Hine, Where in the World Do You Live? (fiction), Harcourt, 1962
- Mary Kay Phelan, The Circus, Holt, 1963
- Ogden NashOgden NashFrederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
, Everyone but Thee and Me (adult poems), Dent, 1963 - Hine, Money Round the World, Harcourt, 1963
- Stella Standard, The Art of Fruit Cookery, Doubleday, 1964
- Sesyle Joslin, The Petite Famille (French languageFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
reader), Harcourt, 1964 - Television Note Book: 1964, Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 1964
- McCain, Writing! (nonfiction), Ariel, 1964. Hine, A Letter to Anywhere (nonfiction), Harcourt, 1964
- Marie Winn and Alan Miller, The Fireside Book of Children's Songs, Simon and Schuster, 1966
- Phyllis McGinley, Wonderful Time (poems), LippincottJ. B. Lippincott CompanyJ. B. Lippincott & Co. was an American publishing house founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1836 by Joshua Ballinger Lippincott.Formed by descendants of the Religious Society of Friends, Joshua Lippincott's company began selling a line of Bibles, prayer books and other religious works before...
, 1966 - Joslin, La Fiesta (Spanish language reader), Harcourt, 1967
- Jan Wahl, Pocahontas in London (fiction), Delacorte, 1967
- Martin Gardner, Never Make Fun of a Turtle, My Son (poems), Simon & Schuster, 1969
- One, Two, Three, HallmarkHallmark CardsHallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, 1970 - The Great Book of Puzzles and Perplexities, 1978
He also illustrated and designed numerous book jackets and paperback covers, two print catalogs, and contributed illustrations to many periodicals, including McCall's, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.