Ed Vebell illustration to “You’re Sexier Than You Think!”, Sunday Mirror Magazine, March 7, 1954.
Between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, mass-circulation magazines often used premiere illustrators to provide art for feature stories. Ed Vebell was one of the best, and we frequently come across his work in our Sunday Mirror Magazine archives, including many original artboards.
The above illustration was for an article titled “You’re Sexier Than You Think!” and it appeared in the March 7, 1954 issue of the magazine. The long article that accompanies it is about famed psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis and his views about pop-cultural images of beauty.
The cutline just below the illustration: “The standards of beauty and perfection personified by movie queens are ‘phony and illusory,’ a noted psychologist contends, and assures the average woman she’s more attractive than she thinks.”
I think the picture says it all.
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About Ed Vebell:
Vebell grew up in Chicago, the son of Lithuanian immigrants. He began attending art school at age 14. He launched his career with a busy Chicago ad agency.
Vebell was a combat artist during WWII, doing illustrations, cartooning and photography for Stars and Stripes. In 1945 he participated in the Nurenburg War Crimes Trials as a courtroom artist.
After the war, Vebell settled in Connecticut and became a leading freelance illustrator, creating paintings and drawings for Readers Digest, Time and Sports Illustrated.
Vebell is also a distinguished fencer and participated in the 1952 Olympics.
Now 93, Vebell has amassed the largest collection of military uniforms and military memorabilia in the U.S.
Here are some other samples of his work from our archives:
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ReMINDers 