Friday, July 26, 2013

Dell Comics Cover Artist: Don Spaulding


Born in Brooklyn, Don Spaulding  talent started early  as he excelled in his high school art class and then spent four years at New York's Art Student League where he studied with Robert Beverly Hale, William McNulty, and Frank Vincent DuMond.  His biggest influence though was invited to work under Norman Rockwell in his Vermont Studio. That experience with Rockwell instilled in the Spaulding his passion for authenticity and excellence that has remained with him throughout his long career. Widely known for his U.S. Military art, his pictures are displayed in the West Point Museum, the U.S. Army War College, and the Pentagon. As the artist strives for detail and accuracy in the dress, gear, and weapons of his subjects,  Spaulding relys heavily on his extensive collection of Western and military artifacts for the task. Particularly interested in the regalia and equipment of the calvary trooper, the Plains Indian and the cowboy, they can all  be seen in his lush covers produced for Dell Publications in the 1950s. The Lone Ranger was the artist's favorite and shown here is his Lone Ranger's Companion Tonto #26 cover art. Though all details are accurate and authentic, the focus always remains on the person, a holdover from his early Rockwell days.  As the artist says "I was put on this earth to paint the historical West. It's my great love and passion."


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