The Boy Scouts of America Camping Scene
On offer is a small, detailed yet likely a preliminary gouache illustration by Hy Hintermeister featuring two Boy Scouts showing off their survival and camping skills while out in the wild. The uniformed scouts are preparing hearty meals over an open fire while also constructing a shelter with branches and trees. This is a fantastic piece of mid-century Americana and nostalgia! Illustration is of unknown usage and is matted behind glass in a wood frame.
About the artist: John Henry Hintermeister
John Henry “Hy” Hintermeister was born in 1869 in Winterthur, Switzerland. After studying art at the University of Zurich, John turned down a teaching position in favor of immigrating to the United States where he found work as a courtroom artist for a local New York paper.
His successful courtroom works soon shifted focus to illustration and magazine cover art. He worked with several calendar art companies including Brown and Bigelow, The Osborne Co., Louis F. Kemper Thomas and American Art Works.
Referred to as John by his friends and family, he signed his art “Hy Hintermeister.” From the 1890s-1940s John, along with his son, Henry, worked together producing over 1,050 illustrations that were reproduced as prints and as jigsaw puzzles. Both artists used identical signatures making distinction of their work nearly impossible.
Both Hintermeister’s works display a sense of humor, whether depicting setter pups or friends’ fishing antics. They were a prolific and well-respected team.
About the artist: Henry Hintermeister
Henry Hintermeister was born in 1897 in New York.
His father John Henry Hintermeister was an illustrator as well. Father and son often worked as a duo, from the 1890’s to the 1940’s, under the pseudonym Hy Hintermeister. They became well known producing over 1,000 of illustrations; John Henry and Henry were often compared to Norman Rockwell with their illustration storytelling. The duo produced a series of calendars depicting American history from 1775-1787. They used identical signatures making their illustrations nearly impossible to distinguish.
As a solo artist, Henry Hintermeister is most know for American themed paintings as well as his paintings of animals.
