Love is in the air in this assemblage of amorous images drawn from The Hilbert Collection’s impressive selection of classic American illustrations. Many of these works were created to illustrate romantic fiction in the pages of popular periodicals of the 1940s to the 1960s, the golden age of magazine illustration.

During that era, a host of magazines aimed at the lucrative women’s market provided female readers with fiction, romantic advice, recipes, fashion news, and, of course, ads for household and beauty products. Romance fiction of the period ranged widely from traditional happily-ever-after fables to more nuanced tales of feisty young women pursuing their own goals…but also finding fulfillment in their relationships with their beaus.

The Saturday Evening Post, Redbook, McCall’s and many other publications, from mass-market periodicals to dime-store pulps, employed some of the top fiction writers and illustrators of the day to brighten up their pages with stories and images of smitten young lovers. Magazine advertising, too, enlisted themes of romantic passion to sell products.

Joe De Mers, Pruett Carter, Joe Bowler, Gwen Fremlin and Jon Whitcomb are just some of the acclaimed illustrators who contributed their talents to bringing these ardent adventures to life for thousands of readers to enjoy.

Mary Platt, Director

Image:
Jon Whitcomb (1906-1988)
"Couple on Dance Floor"
Advertisement for Oneida Community Silversmiths
1951
Gouache on board
The Hilbert Collection