Archie Gunn

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.