HADDON HUBBARD SUNDBLOM (1899-1976) Evening by the Fire. Magazine illustration for "Home for Lunch," published in Ladies' Home Journal, March 1940. Oil on canvas. 27 x 32 inches. Signed "Sundblom" in lower left image.
Haddon Sundblom was an illustrator celebrated for infusing his scenes with a warm and luminous quality, creating sunlit faces and figures that became his signature style. Sundblom employed the alla prima, or wet-on-wet, oil painting technique. This method requires the artist to apply each layer of paint while the previous layers are still wet, necessitating rapid and deliberate work to complete the painting in a single session. Sundblom's mastery of this technique is evident in the vibrancy and energy of his finished pieces, characterized by an economy of colors and brushstrokes.
This particular painting exemplifies Sundblom's distinctive style, bathing the figures in the muted warmth of a glowing campfire at night. Surprisingly, Ladies' Home Journal chose to print this painting in grayscale, diminishing the impact of Sundblom's radiant work.
