Earl Mayan Figurative Paintings

Featured on the cover of the April 28, 1956 Saturday Evening Post, the comical illustration by American illustrator Earl Mayan chronicles a messy traffic jam. The traffic cop that is supposed to be operating the busy intersection’s stoplight is distracted by a group of young ladies nearby. He ignores his post, causing the gridlock and angering the motorists. American automobile culture reached its heyday in the 1950s. Here, the eye-catchingly colorful pile-up of cars echoes America’s growing love affair with this modern convenience, while Mayan’s humorous narrative highlights the inconveniences they sometimes bring. With a career that spanned the era of pulp magazines to the post-WWII years, Earl Mayan's oeuvre presents a colorful snapshot of mid-20th century American life. Born in 1916, he learned his trade at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, joining the field of pulp illustration after his graduation in 1936. When America joined the Second World War, Mayan enlisted in the Army, serving overseas from 1941-1945. Upon his return, he earned a number of important commissions for the Saturday Evening Post, painting ten Post covers in all and illustrating many of the stories that appeared inside the magazine. Much like Norman Rockwell and other master American illustrators of his era, Mayan worked from real-life photographs to achieve remarkable detail and realism in his works. Today, a portrait of César...

Earl Mayan is an accomplished artist-illustrator who did covers for the Saturday Evening Post. This intriguing work was most likely done for a major magazine assignment and perhaps ...

Approximate Date: 1954 Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 21.00" x 21.00", Framed 26.00" x 26.00" Saturday Evening Post cover painting, December 18, 1954 ...