Leslie Thrasher Paintings
American, 1889-1936
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.to
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Artist: Leslie Thrasher
'East, West, Hame's Best' Liberty Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 16, 1929.
Lil and Sandy return home from their vacation, finding the late winter weather dreary after experiencing the warm suns...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Eyes have "It" - Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 16, 1929.
Having just inherited a large sum of money from Uncle Ulysses, Lil and Sandy are on their winter vacation in Florid...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
No Sir - ee! Woman Suffrage is the Curse of the Country, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published October 13, 1928
Great Uncle Ulysses Grant Simpson comes to visit Sandy and Lil and stays for dinner, an event that he considers the c...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fisherman’s Luck, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 8, 1930.
Gwendolyn teases little Ulysses for having a bald head after she had taken scissors to it on Valentine’s Day. Lil had frantically taken Ulysses to the barber in an attempt to salvage the remains of his hair, but there wasn’t much left and now his head “felt like a sprouting cactus.” Gwen points to the aquarium on the table and ties a piece of cord to a ruler, attaches a safety pin, and dangles the line above the surface trying to catch a goldfish. “Gwen stood there, stubbornly waiting for the possible turn in her fisherman’s luck!” (Liberty magazine, March 8, 1930, p. 57)
“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...
Category
1930s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
You Go There Yourself!, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
“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 s...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 20.00" x 16.00"
Signature: Signed Lower Left
Category
Early 20th Century Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'Water Babies' Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 12, 1930.
Lil and Sandy’s neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Smithers, take their daughter Gwen and little Ulysses to the beach. The childre...
Category
1930s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Professor Zobo, The Tattooed Man, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published May 30, 1931.
The circus train arrived overnight and set up their great white tent, causing great excitement and anticipation to every...
Category
1930s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Hit and Run, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 7, 1931
As Jerry the iceman drives his big truck up the hill, splashing through the slushy puddles, bystanders continue to sh...
Category
1930s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"I'd Love To, " Liberty Magazine Cover, 1929
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published November 2, 1929.
Sandy hides behind the newspaper at the breakfast table as Lil suddenly asks “Who is Marianthe? You talked about her...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Crashing the Gate, " Liberty Magazine Cover, 1928
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
“Crashing the Gate: Sandy Paves the Way to His Big Business Scoop,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 10, 1928
Sandy confidently struts down the street, dapperly ...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
And Why Not?, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
“And Why Not?: Lil and Sandy Warm Up Their Imagination,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 7, 1928
As Mr. and Mrs. Morse leave for a date night at the local lodge, Lil and Sandy spend an evening in front of the fireplace at the Morse home. Sandy turns on sentimental music, gathers marshmallows and a toasting fork, and lights the logs in his father-in-law’s fireplace. The fireplace’s golden glow becomes a picture frame for the couple’s dreams of their future son. Sandy excitedly imagines their baby going to college and being the “head of every class, scholarships galore, and captain of basketball, hockey, crew, and football.” Little Sandy is also imagined to be a brave soldier and even serve as future president of the United States. “Dreams of their son…red embers on the hearth…Their fireplace fantasy!” (Liberty magazine, April 7, 1928)
“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...
Category
1920s Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Hero, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published February 28, 1931.
After being struck by a car in a hit and run accident, Red Hancock is on his third day of recovery in the hospital....
Category
20th Century Leslie Thrasher Paintings
Materials
Board, Oil
Leslie Thrasher paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Leslie Thrasher paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Leslie Thrasher in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Not every interior allows for large Leslie Thrasher paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inch across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ron Blumberg, Robert McIntosh, and Craig Alan. Leslie Thrasher paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $6,050 and tops out at $175,000, while the average work can sell for $13,500.