|
Charles Kerins is a wonderful American illustrator that left us wonderful images of children from the mid-20th century. He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts (1915) where he and his siblings were raised. Charles was the second of four children, three boys and a girl, all of whom graduated from college. This was during the golden age of American illustratorrs so as a boy he would have been exposed to books with these stunning illustrations. His parents were Charles and Annabelle Kerins,both attentive and loving parents. The family summered in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. He became an avid reader as a boy and from an early age showed a talent for drawing. His father, a successful businessman, died of a heart attack (1928). Charles was 12 years old at the time. Charles and his siblings were raised by their widowed mother. As a youth, he often went to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum to study favored paintings. Kerins did wonderful covers for Catholic magazines, but by the time he worked, Catholics had entered the American and a Catholic president was even elected (1960). Thus his images depict the general American experience at the time. Because he did a great deal of work for Catholic magazines, he is not well known to the wider American public.
Charles' parents were Charles and Annabelle Kerins, both attentive and loving parents.
Charles was born in Brookline, Massachusetts (1915) where he and his siblings were raised. Charles was the second of four children, three boys and a girl, all of whom graduated from college. The children were dressed in the popular fashions of the day,. As a younger boy he had ringlet curls. This was a fashion going bout of fashion at the time. This was during the golden age of American illustrators so as a boy he would have been exposed to books with these stunning illustrations. The family summered in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. There he would sail with his siblings, learning to love the ocean. He became an avid reader as a boy and from an early age showed a talent for drawing. His father, a successful businessman, died of a heart attack (1928). Charles was 12 years old at the time. Charles and his siblings were raised by their widowed mother. As a youth, he often went to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum to study favored paintings.
Charles was a fine athelete. Kerins was 6'3" tall and had a powerful physical presence. He won a State Champion in Decathlon. He also was a semi-pro boxer. He decided to give this up because he was concerned about damaging his hand which of course was vital for his drawing and painting.
Keirns worked his way through college as a starter at the Wonderland Dog Track. He graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Northeastern University whiche he graduated from as a young man. Kerins studied art under sculptor Cyrus Dallin who helped the artist developed realistic depictions of anatomy in his illustrations. Keirns later received his Master Degree from Bridgewater State College as an older man.
Like many men of his generation born during or around World War I, Keirns served in Wotld War II. He was a troop trainer at Fort Sampson, New York. He was U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer. He formed a life long respect for servicemen.
Kerins married twice and had nine children, five sons and four daughters. His son provides a good assessment of family life andcfrienships, " He was gregarious, but shunned as many social engagements as possible, much to the frustration of his wife. His closest companions were the artists and authors whose work he loved. A notable exception was his friend Vida Carney, a NY City fashion illustrator who he met in art school. Kerins loved her quick wit, kindness, and sense of humor, as did his wife Kae. The two artists remained lifelong friends, her portrait can be seen on this website's Portrait page. Kerins believe that women were stronger than men, and were the backbone of culture. He taught his daughters to trust their own perceptions, be independant, and seek their dreams." His first wife Kathryn was the mother of his eldest four children and his agent for over thirty years. Later he married Dona and had five additional children.
Kerins preferred to work from live models. His studio was on Buttonwood Lane in Scituate, Massachusetts. He worked in the same studio for over 30 year. Of course he got to know the local people very well. He used many local Scituate models who enjoyed assisting him. One of his favorite boy models was Mark Goddard who would latter appear in the TV series 'Lost in Space'. Richard Murphy was another one of Kerins' favorite boy models. Richard was apparently quite an accomplished model. He had the ability to
easily come up with the precise expression Kerins asked him to model. As a result, Richard appeared in quite a number of the ads and magazine covers Kerins created. As well as live modekling sessions, Kerins used a Speed Graphic and a Polaroid camera to photograph his subjects. He would then work from these photographs as well life drawings to create his illustrations and paintings.
Kerins did wonderful covers for Catholic magazines, but by the time he worked, Catholics had entered the American and a Catholic president was evebn elected (1960). Thus his images depict the general American experience at the time. Because he did a great deal of work for Catholic magazines, he is not well known to the wider American public. His work appeared in many important American magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Look Magazine, Life Magazine, and National Geographic. The greatest impact of course comes from cover art. He was the cover artist for The Red Sox Yearbook, Catholic Boy and Catholic Miss magazines. As a result he is best known within the Catholic community. He also did covers for the Converse Yearbook. He did both general magazine illustrations and commercial advertising art. He received commissiions from Converse Sneakers, William Barry Jackets, Rock of Ages, Milton Bradley, Houghton Miflin, Ginn Publishers, Donnellys, Vermont Life, Dennison, Bell Telephone, Moxie, Duran Chocolates, Schraafts, Hood's Dairy, Notra Dame University, Holy Cross Press, The Gas Company and Red Feather Agendy, among others. He is especially known for the Converse ads because of his interest in scolastic sports. I recall at the time time that Converse sneakers were the ones serious baskeball players wanted.
Charles Kerins is a wonderful American illustrator that left us charmimg if somewhat idealized images of children from the mid-20th century. He was named as one of "America's Top 100 Illustrators" by the Chicago Art Directors Club (1956). His illustrations provide charming views of growing up in small town America during the 1950s and 60s. Here sports was an important part of school life. And Keirns' interest in sports is reflected in those depictions. The illustrations were presented not only with sensitivity, but also often with a wry wit. His work is realistic. One of the arrtivutes of many illustrations is has ability to capture dynamic motion. He was also a talented portraitist. While best known for his illustrations, he also painted, primarily portraits. There are several important oil portraits as well as pencil and charcoal drawings.
Kerins' daughter Abby Willowrootson has compiled a great website with an extensive collection of his illustrations and paintings. We have focused on his art dealing with childhood. Here we have a much wider view of Kerins work.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Artist pages:
[Return to the Main American illustrator page]
[Return to the Main individual illustrator page]
[Chronology]
[Countries]
[Individuals]
[Styles]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Literary]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
