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Al Parker Collection

Artwork depicting a man and woman picnicking at a table beneath an apple tree. The woman is drinking from a glass and has a cat around her shoulders while the man looks on.

The Al Parker Collection includes material relating to Parker’s personal and professional development, photographs of artist models, original artwork, and published materials featuring his artwork.

Al Parker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906 and studied at Washington University’s School of Fine Arts from 1923 to 1928. After opening a fledgling advertising agency with fellow students and beginning to work for national magazines, Parker moved to New York City in 1935. A cover illustration for House Beautiful won a national competition and garnered Parker jobs producing illustrations and covers for Chatelaine, Collier’s, Woman’s Home Companion, and Ladies’ Home Journal.

Parker enjoyed a long career and constantly reinvented his style and thematic approach while experimenting with new media to keep his throngs of imitators stymied. Parker’s artwork is highly recognizable because of his crisp renderings and compositions. Known as the Dean of Illustrators, Parker was one of the founding faculty members for the Famous Artists School and was elected to the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame in 1965.

Man's hand under chin of Asian American woman on the left with the word "KINFOLK" written on the right.
Kinfolk, February 1940. A spread of Al Parker’s work found in Ladies’ Home Journal.
A bride with a long veil train sits in the upper right corner. The word "Heritage" is written large in cursive over the page, and the long veil is caught on the H and T.
Cosmopolitan, December 1953

Al Parker Collection on JSTOR

All Washington University faculty, students, and staff can access this collection by creating an account or logging in to JSTOR. Those users outside of the university can contact Special Collections staff for access privileges.

Browse the Al Parker Collection on JSTOR

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Search the Al Parker Collection on ArchivesSpace

For virtual research appointments, contact the Curator of the Dowd Illustration Research Archive

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Contact

Department
Preservation, Processing, and Exhibitions, Special Collections, Special Collections, Preservation, and Digital Strategies
Name
Andrea Degener
sher/her/hers
Job Title
Curator for the Dowd Illustration Research Archive; Visual Materials Processing Archivist & Supervisor (Interim)
Phone Number
(314) 935-9382