Archie Gunn
(1863-1930)
In 1880, at the age of seventeen, he
was commissioned by
Lord Rowton to paint a portrait of Lord
Beaconsfield, which was presented to Queen Victoria. In 1883, at the age
of twenty, he designed posters and costumes for theatrical productions
of Gilbert and Sullivan in London. He used the pen-name "Chicot" for
some of his theatrical posters.
In December of 1889, at the age of
twenty-six, he left England and traveled to America on the steamship City
of Chicago. He settled in Manhattan, New York and quickly began his American career as a commercial artist.
In 1890 he became an editorial
artist for The New York World newspaper, and also illustrated the magazine
Truth. By 1896 Gunn had become a popular designer of theatrical posters,
such as "The Hotel Topsy Turvy," "In Gay Paree", "A Dangerous Maid", "The
Runaway Girl", "Zaza," and "The Man In The Moon".
His drawings of attractive show girls
were widely celebrated as "Archie Gunn Girls". He is best known for his posters, calendars, prints,
and postcards of beautiful girls, which were fashionably displayed in
homes throughout the nation at the turn of the century.
During the 1910s Archie Gunn became
the top cover artist for Red Book Magazine, Green Book Magazine,
and Blue Book Magazine, all of which typically featured beautiful
portraits of women wearing stylish hats and clothing. In the roaring
twenties he painted covers for pulp magazines, such as Action Stories,
Breezy Stories, Illustrated Novelettes, and Love and Romance.
