Uniformed Youth Group Art: Individual Illustrators

Figure 1.--This illustration of French Scouts my be by Pierre Jobert. It is similar to his illustrations, but looks a little different..

HBC is unaware of many artists that have addressed youth groups. Scout art has primarily taken the form of illustrations. Many illustrators have provided wonderful drawings, especially of Scouting. Of course there is always the question as to just where you draw the line between an artist and illustrator. It is Scouting that has been most extensively depicted in illustrations. The two most famous Scouting illustrators are the American illustrator Pierre Jobert and the French illustrator Pierre Jobert. There were also many illustrations of the Hitler Youth. I am unsure as to who the Hitler Youth illustrators were. Presumably after the War, they no longer wanted to be identified with their work. The same may be true of Young Pioneer illustrators after the collapse of Communist Governments in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Pierre Jobert (France, 1910-2002)

Pierre Joubert is best known for his Scouting drawings. In his obituary, the respected Paris newspaper Le Monde referred to him as "l'illustrateur du scout modèle," (the illustrator of the model or ideal Scout). He drew numerous pictures for Boy Scout literature. His drawings show French Scouts happily hiking through the country, their banners proudly displayed. The boys commonly wear the berets and short pants that characterized French Scouts at the time. He became the more or less the "official" illustrator of scouts in France for many decades. He did so much of this and over such a long period that he has even been credited with influencing the actual 'look' of scouts in France (and Belgium).

Evgeniy Medvedev (Russia, 19??- )

A Russian HBC reader tells that Evgeniy Medvedev was perhaps the most famous Russian illustrator of children's books during the late Soviet period, the 1970s and 80s. He often illustrated the books of Vladislav Krapivin, the most famous modern Russian author of the books for children. Medvedev organized and headed the specialized "naval" pioneer summer camp "Karavella" in the Crimea.

Norman Rockwell (United States, 1894-1978)

Norman Rockwell is of course the most famous American illustrator to work on Scouting. He painted many well-regarded images of Scouts over his long career. All of the most famous illustrations of American Scouting were created by Norman Rockwell. He began his work on couting from the earliest days of the movement. Many were published in the Saturday Evening Post and are instantly recoginzeable to Americans who have never been involved in the Scouting movement. The images range from individual expeiences to highly patrioic displys.

Unknown German Illustrators

We note numerous poweful illustrations depicting Hitler Youth boys. We have no idea, however, who the illustrators were.