|
Although D'Ancona was a prolific
pin-up artist who produced hundreds of enjoyable images,
almost nothing is known about his background. He
sometimes signed his paintings with the name "D'Amarie",
but his real name appears on numerous calendar prints
published from the mid 1930s through the mid 1950s, and
perhaps as late as 1960.
The first company to publish
D'Ancona pin-ups, about 1935 to 1937, was Louis F. Dow in
St Paul. D'Ancona worked in oil on canvas and his
originals from that time usually measured about 30 x 22
inches. His early work is comparable in quality to that
of the young Gil Elvgren, who had begun to work for Dow
in 1937. Because D'Ancona produced so much work for Dow,
one might assume that he was born in Minnesota and lived
and worked in the St Paul, Minneapolis area. It is known
that he supplied illustrations to the Goes Company in
Cincinnati and to several soft-drink firms, which
capitalized on his works similarity to the Sundblom/Elvgren
style, which was so identified with Coca-Cola.
During the
1940s and 1950s, D'Ancona superb use of primary colours,
masterful brushstrokes, and painterly style elevated him
to the ranks of the very best artist in pin-up and
glamour art. His subject matter at this time resembled
Elvgren's. Both enjoyed painting nudes and both employed
situation poses a great deal. D'Ancona also painted a
fair amount of evening-gown scenes, as did Elvgren, Frahm and Erbit.
By 1960, D'Ancona had moved into
the calendar art field. Instead of doing pin-ups and
glamour images, however, he specialized in pictures on
the theme of safety in which wholesome policemen helped
children across the street in suburban settings that came
straight out of Norman Rockwell.
|
