A deer feasts on spring garden seedlings in a vegetable garden by moonlight.  This depiction of nature intruding on idyllic suburban life is characteristic of Dohanos' offbeat sense of humor.  This appears to be a preliminary work, retaining some sketch quality.

Stevan Dohanos was a famous American illustrator, best known for the extensive series of over 120 Saturday Evening Post covers he painted during the 1940s and 50s highlighting the prosperity and move to the suburbs of the post-World War II expansion.  Born and raised in a steel mill town in Ohio, Dohanos studied at the Cleveland School of Art and began winning awards for his work in 1934.  He depicted scenes of Americana: Main Street USA, farm life, fire houses, state fairs, vacationers, boys and girls at play, church Sundays and of course, baseball, but with a dry humor and an eye for offbeat, quirky details that distinguished his work from the more folksy, sentimental viewpoint of Norman Rockwell. Dohanos seldom used professional models so as not to detract from the realism of his work. He also produced fine art landscape paintings and murals.  Dohanos was a member of the Society of Illustrators and served as both a design coordinator and chairman for the Stamp Advisory Committee, designing 34 U.S. postage stamps. His paintings and prints can be found in various museums including the Whitney Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Art.

This drawing is from a collection of original art from the artist’s estate, some signed and some unsigned, purchased by our gallery in the mid 1990s.

Condition:  Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear.  Center vertical fold as issued, not obtrusive.

References:

"Artist's Biographies: Stevan Dohanos." Illustration House. http://www.illustration-house.com/bios/dohanos_bio.html (20 August 2002).

Gilbert, Dorothy B., ed.  Who’s Who in American Art.  New York: American Federation of Arts and R.R. Bowker, 1959.  p. 151.