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Stevan Dohanos: Capturing Beauty in the Commonplace

May 19, 2020 – Written By: Barbara Rundback

A strong admirer of the artists Edward Hopper and Charles Burchfield, Stevan Dohanos created artwork reflecting the style of American Realism. His pictures are filled with common objects, preferably man-made, that are easily recognizable to people. This popular subject matter lead him to produce 123 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Dohanos’s images captured the locations and trapping of the American dream, not those who populated it, the focus of Norman Rockwell’s work. He took inspiration from everyday scenes found around his home in Westport, Connecticut, offering only glimpses of its residents.

In this 2014 acquisition from the Famous Artists School (FAS) collection, Dohanos considers all the possibilities of a common object – an umbrella. When closed, is it merely the accessory of a man strolling along Park Avenue or a necessity for impending rain? Visibly, the open, torn umbrella has lost its battle with a blustery storm. The last image is actually a parasol, an object that protects a Far East dignitary from the harsh sun. For The Saturday Evening Post’s, May 13, 1944 cover, Dohanos uses this common object as the focal point of his composition. The artist masterfully captures the raindrops bouncing off the umbrella as the mail carrier performs his task, delivering the mail no matter the weather.

Common Object - Umbrella

Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994)
Common Object – Umbrella, pre-1950. Ink and gouache on illustration board, 30 x 15 ¾ in. Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of Magdalen and Robert Livesey, NRM.2014.02.0023

Mailman

Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994)
Mailman, 1944. Cover for The Saturday Evening Post, May 13, 1944, Tearsheet, Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Museum purchase, NRM.2019.22.01. 1944 SEPS. All Rights Reserved

In this FAS artwork (below), Dohanos illustrates the common object, glass, in a series of windows to narrate the object’s history. The artist draws a window frame to create the illusion of transparency. The viewer “sees” the glass because of his past associations with windows. In the second window, the crack suggests that an accident has occurred. The jagged line in the empty square establishes the surface plane of the glass. The last image is filled with human elements: a window shade, curtains, Red Cross sticker, and potted plants. Possibly, a new owner resides here now, and temporarily repaired the crack with tape. These details give the image depth and allows the viewer to look through the window.

A piece of glass does not make a window

Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994)
A piece of glass does not make a window, pre-1950. Tempera and pencil on paper, 18 ¼ x 22 18 1/8 in. Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of Magdalen and Robert Livesey, NRM.2014.02.1824.

Recently, the Norman Rockwell Museum had the opportunity to purchase several of Stevan Dohanos’s Saturday Evening Post cover studies from his widow. In this scene from everyday life, a police officer enjoys an ice cream cone on a beautifully, clear day. In typical Dohanos style, he adds familiar objects, the ice cream stand, telephone pole, and police car, to the picture. He obscures the officer’s identity with dark glasses; thereby, making him a more generic character. Below the sign’s lettering, is an editor’s note asking Steve to change the name “Wisner’s.” The final painting can be seen in a studio publicity photograph from the Famous Artists School collection.

Pete’s Double Headers

Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994)
Pete’s Double Headers, 1951. Color study for The Saturday Evening Post, September 22, 1951
Gouache and pencil on illustration board, 14 x 11 in. Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Museum purchase, NRM.2019.22.01

To find out more about Stevan Dohanos, visit his profile on the Museum’s Illustration History website (IllustrationHistory.org).

Stevan Dohanos in Westport, Connecticut

Written By: Venus Van Ness

A native of Lorain, Ohio, Stevan Dohanos was the third of nine children born to Hungarian immigrants.  An admirer of Norman Rockwell from an early age, Dohanos’ artistic talents were first noticed when he would recreate Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers in crayon and sell them to co-workers at the steel mill where he worked.  After attending art school and an early career in art advertising, Dohanos went on to become one of the Post’s most popular artists, appearing on its cover 123 times.

Dohanos’ realistic style has often been compared to, and confused with, Norman Rockwell’s.  Like Rockwell, Dohanos used friends and neighbors to depict scenes from everyday life.  The town of Westport, Connecticut, where Dohanos lived beginning in the early 1940’s, became as important a character in his paintings as the models he selected to appear in them.  Westport was the perfect backdrop on which to illustrate quintessential New England life, both the inspiring and the mundane.

Stevan Dohanos leaving the Westport Post Office

Dohanos leaving the Westport Post offices with packages and fan mail
Photographer unknown
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, RC.2013.11.5.47

Stevan Dohanos with 1 of 46 stamp designs he designed

Dohanos with the newly issued 1960 Christmas Seals stamp
Photographer unknown
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, RC.2013.11.5.62

Stevan Dohanos visits the Westport Fire Department

Dohanos visiting Fire Chief Harold Shippey, Sr. and drawing sketches at the Westport Fire Department
Photographer unknown
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, RC.2013.11.5.78

Stevan Dohanos in his studio

Dohanos posing with original paintings in his Westport studio
Photographer unknown
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, RC.2013.11.5.153

Along with Norman Rockwell and 10 other artists, Dohanos was a founding member of the Famous Artists School, a hugely popular commercial art correspondence course created in 1948. Aside from his associations with the Famous Artists School and the Saturday Evening Post, Dohanos was well-known for his work for the U.S. Postal Service.  He designed more than 46 individual stamps, and later in his career as Chairman of the National Stamp Advisory Committee, he oversaw and selected the artwork for more than 300 others.  In recognition of his work, the Postal Service’s “Hall of Stamps” in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in his honor.

*Thanks to Magdalen and Robert Livesey, former owners of the Famous Artists School, for the donation of these photos and many other items, to the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Steven Dohanos – Meet the Artist Series, #1 (1949)
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, FAS-04

About the Blog Authors

Barbara RundbackAssociate Registrar and Assistant Curator
Barbara Rundback is an associate registrar and assistant curator at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Over the last 10 years, she has processed the original artwork to the NRM permanent collection, curated seasonal exhibitions, and contributed content to the Museum’s digital interactives and websites.
Venus Van NessArchivist
Venus Van Ness is the Archivist at the Norman Rockwell Museum and oversees the physical and digital archival collections as well as the museum’s research library. Over the last several years, her work has focused on making collections more broadly accessible through numerous digitization and processing projects.