Daniel "Dan" Content (American, 1902-1990), Beach Scene, Study

Oil on canvas, 1933, signed and dated at lower right, unframed.

25 x 50 in.

Private Collection, Columbus, North Carolina

Daniel Content was an American illustrator who designed magazine and commercial advertisements. He was born in New York City, studied under Dean Cornwell at the Pratt Institute, and attended the Art Students League, where one of his professors was Harvey Dunn.

Content worked as a freelance artist for about thirty years. He illustrated for magazines such as Colliers, Cosmopolitan, Readers Digest, and McCall's. In 1928, he illustrated the Windermere Series printing of Robin Hood. During World War II, he traveled with United Service Organizations to Burma and India entertaining the servicemen with personal sketches. Content taught at Work Shop School of Art from 1947 to 1948, and then became the art director for Benton & Bowles. A collection of Content’s work can be found in the Society of Illustrators’ Museum of American Illustration, New York City.

Age cracking, stretcher marks, scatted flaking, a few small punctures, grime, and significant wear to the edges of the piece.