was one of the most prominent illustrators of the 1920s. Most of his illustrations were done with a simple line, yet if you paid attention it soon became clear that Barton knew a few things. Here are four of them:
1. Sometimes the best way to exaggerate legs is to contrast them with a normal arm:
Those high-stepping legs seem even crazier because Barton gave us a baseline for normalcy. By showing us he understands the bones and muscles of that arm; he emphasizes that he has detached the bones and added more joints to those legs. That wonderful flowing tunic is like a magician's cape, concealing how he has sawed a lady in half.
2. Sometimes the best way to draw a big subject is to obscure it in a small corner.
There were plenty of dramatic ways to draw the 1927 death of Isadora Duncan, the famous dancer whose trademark-- an enormous, flamboyant scarf-- became wrapped around the axle of her brand new convertible. Duncan was pulled from her car and choked to death as she was dragged along a cobblestone road in France. An artist could hardly ask for a more visual spectacle. Yet, this is the wonderful, controlled way that Barton depicted it:
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| I love Gertrude Stein's stoic reaction when she read the news of Duncan's death: “Affectations can be dangerous.” |
3. A mediocre subject can still be redeemed by a strong image.
The joke on this cover of Puck is not particularly funny or creative:
but man oh man, it is redeemed by Barton's strong graphic treatment. He didn't get discouraged by his text, he redeemed it.
Today the practice is largely the opposite. The dominant assumption is that crappy drawing will be redeemed by profound or moving content.
4. Don't accept standard templates if you have a better idea.
Barton decided that the regular logo for Puck would not go very well with his cover drawing. Rather than compromise his drawing or accept , Barton took the initiative to letter a whole new title and offer it to his client:
It appears from Barton's note that Puck neither requested nor paid for this extra effort. It was something Barton volunteered because he cared about the least details surrounding his art and was not afraid to work.
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