Maurice L. Bower

American illustrator and portraitist, 1889-–1980

BiographyOhio-born Maurice Bower attended Penn State University and the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia, where he studied with Walter Everett, a former Howard Pyle student. While still a studnet, his work was published in St. Nicholas magazine. Subsequently, he worked for the publications of the national Hearst Syndicate. During World War I, he was a medical illustrator in the U.S. Army.

In 1926 he accepted a commission from the McCall Corporation to work in Paris. Until the beginning of the Depression in 1929, Bower spent his summers in Paris and the rest of the year in Philadelphia. Thereafter, he continued to work for many leading magazines. He designed several Saturday Evening Post covers in the 1930s.

Bower became especially known for his skill at depicting horses. Several of his Post covers showed horses doing everything from urgently pulling a fire engine (January 12, 1935) to performing at a circus (April 6, 1935) to pulling a getaway stagecoach (February 6, 1937).

As photography began to outpace the demand for illustrators, it became difficult for Bower to find continuous work, and he turned to the less lucrative world of portrait painting and illustrations for minor publications.

In the early 1960s, Bower moved to Collingswood, New Jersey. He did there at the age of 91 on October 4, 1980.

In 2009 in honor of the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, the Post saluted Bower's equine art.

Sources:
www.curtispublishing.com#3C7EAB
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