Leslie Thrasher Paintings

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published October 3, 1931 Sandy is excited to receive an unexpected $35 income tax refund check. After going to the bank, he goes to lunch with ...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 26, 1929. After the passing of Sandy’s Great-Uncle Ulysses, Sandy and Lil walk around the cluttered brownstone mansion he left...

“Their Romantic Honeymoon: The Bride and Groom Visit Niagara Falls,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 9, 1927 Newlyweds Lil and Sandy are on their honeymoon at N...

“Her Little Caveman: The Jenkinses’ Saturday Afternoon Drama,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published November 12, 1927 Sandy walks home carrying groceries after a day of ru...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 19, 1930. Ma Morse tries to convince Lil to accompany her to the church fair, but Lil doesn’t want to venture out into the sto...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 26.00" x 32.00", Framed 40.00" x 36.00" Two men in deck chairs. One of the men is looking very sick and pale, grippin...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published October 17, 1931. As Lil’s Aunt Ruby, a “social gadabout” and “blithe widow of many years’ standing” arrives at the Jenkins family home for a visit, Sandy tries to hide his irritation once he sees the massive amount of luggage she had in tow. Aunt Ruby shows off an enormous new diamond ring and coyly announces she is to be married that fall and that her new fiance would be arriving shortly. As Lil scrambles up some hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, Sandy hears a car pull up to the house and is shocked to discover that Aunt Ruby’s future husband is none other than Sandy’s boss! (Liberty magazine, October 17, 1931, p. 37) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 24, 1926 Sandy, Lil, and their friends gather on the front porch of the Morse home to sing. They began in the late afternoon, but...

A Salvation Army Santa looks on with a mixture of fatigue and disinterest as a group of children tell him their Christmas gift wish lists in this lighthearted composition by leading American illustrator Leslie Thrasher. This painting was created for the December 20, 1930 issue of Liberty Magazine, for which the artist illustrated covers on a weekly basis for six consecutive years. Thrasher is known for his scenes of everyday American life imbued with a sense of humor, qualities represented to great effect in this charming painting. Born in 1889 in Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager and received a scholarship to study art abroad in Paris. Upon his return, he began studying under Howard Pyle, known as the “father of American illustration.” Thrasher sold his first cover illustration to the Saturday Evening Post in 1912, four years before Norman Rockwell’s first Post cover, and he would go on to produce over 360 magazine covers throughout his career. He painted humorous, relatable scenes of everyday life in America with colorful characters set against white backgrounds. He was also a successful commercial artist, painting advertisements for Cream of Wheat, Chesterfield Cigarettes...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 7, 1926 Robert (Pop) Morse returns home from his work at the real estate office after the successful sale of a corner lot on Ma...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 28.00" x 22.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 22, 1927. Blissful in her recent engagement to Sandy, Lil spends an evening at home knitting him a pair of green zigzag sport ...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left A woman and young boy are washing dishes together. Charles Leslie Thrasher was made famous by signing on for a long-term contract to paint every single weeks cover for Liberty Magazine. It was a back-breaking commitment to work at such a pace and an even greater challenge to come up with enough original cover ideas. The latter problem was partially solved by settling on a continuing story line, which followed a couple's courtship, marriage and children. It was a popular series, later made into a movie called "For the Love of Lil." His marriage provided the ingredients for it, and he served as his own model for the hero. As the presentation was humorous and light, the artwork tended to be lightweight, below the standards of his earlier cover work for The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and his advertising illustrations Cream of Wheat, Fisk Tires...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed and Dated Lower Left Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, June 8, 1912

Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 21.00" x 17.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 2, 1930. Lil has given birth to a new blonde-haired blue-eyed baby boy weighing eight pounds and Ma Morse couldn’t be more exci...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 17, 1929. Lil calls Sandy down to a nice breakfast to be served in her new fruit dishes, as she asks Sandy to bring her purse and materials to fix the carpet runner, which he forgets. Lil is horrified to find her sideboard key in baby Ulysses’ mouth and she proceeds to feed the baby while asking Sandy to give her updates on a recent triple suicide outlined in the newspaper. Ulysses pounds his cereal spoon, sending sprays of milk across the table onto Sandy’s elbow and Lil’s new fifty-dollar negligee. (Liberty magazine, August 17, 1929, p. 38) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

“Seven A.M. – All’s Well: The Newlyweds’ Wave-Length Route to Health,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published December 3, 1927 Lil sleepily awakes to her alarm clock buzzing...

“Hearts are Trumps: Pop Morse, as the Dummy, Makes a Grand Slam,”original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 19, 1927 Pop Morse is immersed in his income taxes as Lil remin...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published December 11, 1926 Sandy called on Lil one evening, only to find that his suspicions were true – Mr. Hammerschlosser, the aging and wea...

“I Promised My Wife: Sandy’s Business Trip Adventures,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published September 24, 1927 Traveling on a business trip, Sandy ventures out of his cut...

Signed Lower Left by Artist Cover of The Saturday Evening Post, September 6, 1913

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 28, 1931. Gwendolyn Smithers is loudly singing to herself and disrupting the household. When Mrs. Smithe...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 22, 1929. Sandy, away on a business trip, calls Lil to check in. The two discuss bills and talk about how much they miss each oth...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published September 18, 1926. Lil receives an unexpected flower delivery at the Morse home, while a jealous Sandy glowers in alarm and disapprov...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 9, 1929. Sandy and Lil relax on a Florida beach, marveling at how wonderful it is to be rich, for the couple recently inherit...

“We Prefer Cigarets [sic]: Lil’s Hectic Hunt for Holiday Gifts,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published December 17, 1927 With only six days left before Christmas, Lil and h...

A boy climbs out the window and sneaks out of the house to go fishing with his friend Artwork Dimensions: 28¼” x 26¼” Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published December 14, 1929. As Sandy and Lil retire to the sofa after dinner, Lil comments on how quiet Sandy has been after returning from hi...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 16, 1928 Lil has returned home to her parents’ house after having her baby and the whole family tiptoes around trying not to disr...

Signed Lower Left by Artist Liberty Magazine Cover, January 27th, 1934

Two young children play an ill-advised game of gum stretching on the family couch in this charming composition by famed American illustrator, Leslie Thrasher. Painted towards the start of the Great Depression, Thrasher provided light-hearted images of the lives of everyday people to distract Americans from their troubles. These images appeared on the covers of Liberty Magazine, for whom he produced one cover illustration a week for six consecutive years. Born in 1889 in Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager and received a scholarship to study art abroad in Paris. Upon his return, he began studying under Howard Pyle, known as the “father of American illustration.” Thrasher sold his first cover illustration to the Saturday Evening Post in 1912, four years before Norman Rockwell’s first Post cover, and he would go on to produce over 360 magazine covers throughout his career. He painted humorous, relatable scenes of life in America with colorful characters set against white backgrounds. He was also a successful commercial artist, painting advertisements for Cream of Wheat, Chesterfield Cigarettes...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 1, 1929. Sandy sits in the overstuffed chair of the posh Union Club, a known retreat for bachelors (and men who wish they still w...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 31, 1929. Sandy takes Lil and baby Ulysses out for a day on the lake at the crowded Lakeside Bathing Casino. Sandy pulls out a ...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 14, 1928. Lil worries about the effect of the summer heat on their sleeping newborn baby as Sandy crawls onto their apartment’s f...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 25, 1931. Miss Wise tries to keep the children in her classroom focused during the day’s history lesson, but Gwendolyn Smithers ...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 4, 1928. Having left her husband Sandy, Lil returns to the Morse family home with her two-month-old baby. Ma Morse worries abou...

Portrait of a young girl with short blonde hair wearing a collared shirt and a red tie. Liberty Magazine Cover Illustration, October 1, 1932 Signed Lower Right Charle...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 7, 1931. It’s wintertime and the streets are filled with muddy slush as the children of the neighborhood, Gwendolyn Smithers and Red Hancock, play outside. Red climbs to the top of a swaying wooden fence and begins to walk across it like a tightrope as he brags to Gwendolyn, “I bet you can’t do this.” Hoping he would slip, Gwendolyn giggles, “Ho-ho! I bet I can do it with my eyes shut.” As his ankles shake on the wobbling fence, Red bravely shouts, “I dare you...

“Mother Knows Best: Mrs. Morse Dips Her Cheerful Oar,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published May 12, 1928 Mrs. Morse was very excited to become a grandmother for the first ...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 28, 1930. Gwendolyn and Ulysses sit on the front steps of the Jenkins house, wishing for rain so they could play in mud puddles. ...

“Honeymooning at Greenville: Lil and Sandy Continue Their Scenic Trip,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 23, 1927 Sandy and Lil are on their honeymoon, which after an expensive stay at a mosquito-inhabited resort in Greenville, has not been going particularly well. Their disappointing fishing trip left them with more fly bites than fish bites. The newlyweds were eager to board the train, settle in to their sleeping car, and journey to their next destination. When Sandy attempts to bring Lil the glass of water she requested, the train suddenly jerks and ice water spills on a sleeping gentleman in the next berth. “‘Oh! Oh!’ Lil gasped, a witness to her husband’s social blunder. And she wished she were deaf!” (Liberty magazine, July 23, 1927, p. 45) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 2, 1929. Lil and Sandy stop by New York city on their way to Florida. Elegantly dressed and driving a fancy car, the couple a...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 29, 1931. Lil and Sandy have been enjoying their summer weekends together as they begin to search for a new vacation home. Howe...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 13, 1929. The opera is in town for one night only, making it the social event of the season. Sandy and Lil sit in their box seats, gazing at the less elite audience members in the orchestra and haughtily critiquing the wardrobe choices of other wealthy socialites. The couple excitedly watches as the Opera begins, and eagerly await the gathering in their home after the performance, to which they have invited the star, Paltrianni. Upon his arrival at the Jenkins’ home, Paltrianni comments on how extravagantly the couple lives. However, much to Lil’s horror, there was no lavish banquet awaiting them, for the butler Meadows was found drunkenly passed out on a chair next to the empty dining room. (Liberty magazine, April 13, 1929, p. 68) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine covers have been disconnected pictures.” To help readers follow the plot from week to week, a short story summary was printed in each issue. (Liberty magazine, June 19, 1926, pp. 69-70). “For the Love o’ Lil” centers around the lives of Lil Morse and Sandy Jenkins and includes recurring characters from their extended family and social circles. The serial follows the couples’ adventures through courtship, the ups and downs of married life, the antics of their offspring with the neighborhood children, and the complex dynamics of relationships with in-laws. The goal was to show a typical modern American family whose eccentricities and foibles would attract readers each week. Thrasher used himself as the model for Lil’s father, Robert E. Lee Morse. Liberty further engaged readers by running contests for best titles, and later, for suggested storylines. The model proved successful and “For the Love o’ Lil” became a popular hallmark of the publication for many years, resulting in a 1930 film adaptation starring the flapper Sally Starr. Leslie Thrasher Leslie Thrasher first began contributing covers to Liberty in 1924, and in 1926 he was offered a contract to create a cover per week at the rate of $1,000 per week. Going against the advice of his friend Norman Rockwell, Thrasher accepted the contract, agreeing to complete a weekly cover for six years - an immensely challenging endeavor requiring that both new ideas and new artwork be produced at an extremely rapid pace. The continuing storyline of the cover serial “For the Love o’ Lil” helped Thrasher keep up with the constant demand for new images. Due to declining circulation, Liberty terminated Thrasher’s contract in 1932. A few years later in 1936, Thrasher died from pneumonia caused by smoke inhalation from a fire in his home, which also destroyed much of his original artwork. An incredibly prolific artist, Thrasher had created more than 360 covers in his lifetime for various publications, including 23 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Leslie Thrasher was born in Piedmont, West Virginia. He studied art at the Philadelphia Academy and at the age of 16, won a scholarship that allowed him to study in Paris. Upon his return to the United States, Thrasher studied with Howard Pyle in Wilmington, Delaware and briefly worked as a portrait painter before moving to New York City to begin his commercial career producing illustration for magazines and advertising agencies. Thrasher also served in World War I, where he was assigned work as a camouflage painter. Date: 1929 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 20.00" x 16.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Liberty Magazine Cover, 4/13/29 "Opera Night"

“Lil Watches Her Step!: And Plays the Feminine Lead in a Risky Office Drama,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published November 5, 1927. Lil takes out her shorthand book as he...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 2, 1929. After spending a few weeks in Florida, Sandy and Lil continue their winter vacation in Havana, Cuba, where Lil goes on ...

“Choosing the Love Nest: Lil and Sandy Find a Cozy Spot for Their Bungalow of Dreams,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 18, 1927 Lil and Sa...

“The Doctor Calls: Spending the Morning with Lil’s Oldest Friend,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published May 5, 1928 Dr. Howard, the Morse family doctor, is caught in traff...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published May 23, 1931. Lil and Sandy have their friends Mr. and Mrs. Saunders Shanks over to their house for a game of cards. After settling do...

“The Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy: Breathing Out Envy, It Swoops Down upon Sandy,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 9, 1927. Sandy is feeling gloomy while reme...

“None but the Brave: A 3 A.M. Melodrama,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 31, 1928 Lil awakens at two o’clock in the morning to a ruckus of a cat fight outside ...

She Loves Me ...She Loves Me Not, Liberty Magazine Cover, June 19, 1926 Original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 19, 1926. Sandy forgot that toda...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 22.00" x 9.75" Signature: Signed Lower Right

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published October 2, 1926 Sandy glowers as he sits at the table watching his rival Babe Dolan, the athletic lifeguard, flirt with Lil. Lil is entranced as Babe promises to make her a champion swimmer and the two are oblivious to the arrival of the waiter with the check, which Sandy reluctantly pays with nearly all of the remaining money in his wallet. (Liberty magazine, October 2, 1926, p. 54) This cover illustration was produced right after Liberty ceased their title contest for readers. “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Date: 1926 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 20.00" x 16.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Liberty magazine cover, November 6, 1926

Date: 1930 Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed and Dated Lower Right Contact exact dimensions. Liberty Magazine Cover, April 12, 1930

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 9, 1932. Sandy and Lil are excited to welcome the new year in 1932 and leave the past year of job losses, stock market crashes...