Today's Inspiration

Celebrating illustration, design, cartoon and comic art of the mid-20th century.

Showing posts with label Eleanor Dalton. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Life of Eleanor Dalton, Part 2
By guest author, Matthew Chaney

I'm surprised that it was I who discovered Eleanor Dalton's collection at a local
auction here in Vermont, where I live, but I fell in love with it all. I knew I had
to "save" the artwork.

Dalton09

Following the auction, I spent the entire weekend cleaning up and organizing the
materials, and learning about Eleanor.

Dalton11

The next weekend I photographed many of the pieces in Eleanor's collection (there
were over 500 pieces in total), and uploaded them to my Facebook page.

Dalton08

Eleanor's resume and cover letter are there, which cover her career up to the late
1960's or so.

Dalton12

Her resume says that she graduated from the Cooper Union and studied fashion
drawing for a year at Parsons, and attended L.A.C.C. I believe Eleanor was from Los
Angeles, California. I found a document that appears to be for Eleanor's mother
that has an L.A. address.

Dalton13

I googled many of the names I found in Eleanor's letters, on envelopes, and on

scraps of paper and photos. One of the names I found was filmmaker/critic, Gideon
Bachmann, who is still alive - 87 years old! I found him through a film website in
Germany, where he lives and works. Gideon was thrilled to hear from me. For many
years, he had wondered what had happened to Eleanor. Gideon was in Federico
Fellini's well-known film 8 1/2. In the early 1970s he made a documentary film
about Fellini. Gideon has remained active in the film industry to this day.

Dalton17

Eleanor's resume also mentions working from 1964 to 1968 at Seventeen Magazine as a
designer in the promotions department. There are a few interesting samples of her
promotional work that demonstrate the fashion illustration skills she developed at
Parsons.

Dalton16

Dalton10

I found a cover letter she wrote for an application for a Promotion Art Director
position at the New York Times in 1971, but I don’t know if she got the job.
Eleanor started out at Parade Magazine and worked for three publishing companies:
Grolier, Unicorn & Moore.

There's other documentation as well: names, dates, and notes written on the backs
of photographs. Also, postcards, letters from friends of Eleanor's, and several
letters that Eleanor wrote but never managed to mail. I'm a bit confused about part
of her collection. There are many older photos in the collection that are from
Stockton-on-Tees, England.

Dalton14

One of the names that I see a lot on the photos from England is Eleanor Finney.

Dalton15

Auerelius Battaglia was Eleanor Dalton's longtime boyfriend. Marzia Cristina, a

relative of Battaglia's who lives in Sicily, wrote a 40 page book about Battaglia
for her family. Marzia credits Eleanor on her website (which is how my Google
search found her site) because Marzia had gathered her background information on
Battaglia by corresponding with Eleanor. I've been in contact with Marzia, who told
me about Eleanor dating Battaglia. Eleanor & Aurelius lived together in
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Marzia told me that she thought some of the drawings I
have on my Facebook page were made by Battaglia – landscape drawings of Italy...

Battaglia47

... a children's book-styled drawing of a cat playing a guitar...

Battaglia45

... and a few small sketches in a drawing tablet.

Battaglia46

I asked Marzia if she would "Like" the drawings she thought were Battaglia's, so I
could see which drawings were his. One of the most interesting drawings attributed
to Battaglia is one of an angry cartoon man using a variety of Italian swear words,
alongside two funny handwritten comments by two of his friends.

Battaglia48

I found a record online that mentions that an Eleanor Dalton passed away here in
Morrisville, Vermont. It states that "Eleanor E. Dalton . . . was born on January
6, 1932 [ . . . and] died on April 7, 2002 at 70 years old.”

About the author: Matthew Chaney studied abstract oil painting at Goddard College,
Plainfield, VT. He is currently looking for a publisher to create a book about
Eleanor Dalton's life and/or a museum to display the collection.
Posted by leifpeng at 10:16 AM 23 comments:
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Tuesday, May 06, 2014
The Life of Eleanor Dalton, Part 1
By guest author, Matthew Chaney

I first noticed Eleanor's fashion drawings in a lot at a local auction. At first

glance it appeared to be junk, but I discovered a few fashion drawings.

Dalton06

I sifted through the pile and found a small promotional poster from Seventeen
Magazine. The poster eloquently illustrated the fashions of the time.

Dalton02

I also found a notepad page: "From the desk of Eleanor Dalton" was printed at the
top and "Seventeen" at the bottom.

Dalton01

I knew right then I had to bid on the collection and try to make sense of the
beautiful mess. There were hundreds of drawings and photos in the lot. I hoped they
all pertained to Eleanor, so I could learn more about this fascinating artist.

Dalton07

I lucked out and won the lot. I spent the next few days separating the dead bugs
from the many beautiful fashion drawings, watercolors, photographs, letters, notes,
cancelled checks, caricatures, landscape drawings, sketches, promotional material,
unpublished children's book samples, and more.

Dalton03

I researched the names I found in the collection, starting with Eleanor, and found
a website created by Marzia Cristina, a relative of the famous children's book
illustrator, Aurelius Battaglia. Marzia wrote a 40-page book titled "Provincetown"
about Battaglia for her family with information she learned through writing to
Eleanor. Marzia told me that Battaglia and Eleanor dated until Battaglia's death in
1984.

Dalton04

I've learned a lot about Eleanor Dalton, but I still have unanswered questions. I'm
surprised that we're just now finding out about her work.

Dalton05

Here's a link to more photographs on my Facebook page.

About the author: Matthew Chaney studied abstract oil painting at Goddard College,
Plainfield, VT. He is currently looking for a publisher to create a book about
Eleanor Dalton's life and/or a museum to display the collection.
Posted by leifpeng at 7:52 AM 11 comments:
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