Publication unknown Illustrated by Austin Briggs Year unknown Courtesy of Charlie Allen

Austin Briggs was 19 and still in art school when he sold his first drawing to Collier's magazine. Briggs soon decided he didn't need more school. He was making good money from Collier's imitating the popular artists of the day. But after a couple of years Briggs realized that he was faking it. Many of his lines were just random squiggles with little understanding of what went on beneath the surface. He was borrowing solutions he hadn't earned, and his shortcuts began to betray him. His…

“Briggs”

Austin Briggs was 19 and still in art school when he sold his first drawing to Collier's magazine. Briggs soon decided he didn't ne...

We're always hearing that artists require freedom to express their opinions. Artists need freedom to express political opinions, or to show explicit content. Artistic opinions might offer a social conscience, or point out ironies in our culture. The outrageous perspectives of underground cartoonists unsettle the status quo. This focus on the artist's opinions is why advertising art is held in such low regard: the corporate advertiser, not the artist, controls the content. But making art…

In keeping with our current theme of posting working sketches by the great illustrators, today let's look at some unpublished drawings by Au...

In keeping with our current theme of posting working sketches by the great illustrators, today let's look at some unpublished drawings by Austin Briggs. It is a shame that Briggs does not get much attention today; for decades he was one of the most highly regarded illustrators in the country. An excellent painter, Briggs was especially known for the great subtlety and sensitivity of his drawing with a lithography crayon, charcoal or similar tools. Despite the free and spontaneous look to his…

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Original Comic Art titled Austin Briggs, located in William's Illustration & paintings Comic Art Gallery (1415884)