Albert Dorne (February 7, 1906 - December 15, 1965) was a prominent American artist and businessman who played a key role in establishing correspondence schools for budding artists, photographers, and writers. He also co-founded the Code of Ethics and Fair Practices of the Profession of Commercial Art and Illustration.
Biography
Dorne was born in the impoverished neighborhoods of New York City's East Side, and had a difficult upbringing marked by tuberculosis and heart issues. He skipped school to study art in museums, eventually dropping out entirely to provide for his family. After various jobs including managing a newsstand and working as an office boy, along with a brief career as a professional boxer, Dorne entered the field of advertising.
He trained as a letterer under Saul Tepper before spending five years at Alexander Rice's commercial art studio. Upon leaving the studio to pursue freelance work, his illustrations began appearing in magazines such as Life, Collier's, and The Saturday Evening Post. By 1943, he even graced the cover of American Artist magazine and gained recognition as one of the top-paid figures in advertising illustration. He collaborated frequently with the Johnstone and Cushing advertising agency.
Dorne served as president of the New York Society of Illustrators from 1947 to 1948. In 1948, he conceived an idea for an art correspondence school which led to founding Famous Artists School alongside eleven other well-known artists affiliated with the Society of Illustrators - including Norman Rockwell. Championing similar principles, in 1961, Dorne also played a part in founding the Famous Photographers School when it started gaining momentum.The three schools were based in Westport Connecticut scoring more than 50 thousand students across Americaand54 foreign countries producing an overall whopping $10 million by 1963. In addition to this, his influence extended toward artists such as John Buscema Al Avison and Arthur Suydamwho were inspired by his work.
In 1956, Dorned Effort hopefully donated over 500000 items from the pictorial resource filetotheWestport Public Library the tusus continues currently in action. Taking this accolade further, the University Of Bridge Port Art Department established The Departmental Drawing Professorship with Albert Dorne's name attached field setting a high bar for art education.
Awards
In 1953, he was awarded the Gold Medal for a "notable career" by the New York Art Directors Club. Five years later, Adelphi College granted him an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, and in 1963, he received the Horatio Alger Award for Achievement from the American Schools and Colleges Association, Inc.
References
Donson, A, J. (1969) "College Art News," Art Journal, 28(3),p. 328-339. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043249.1969.10793919.
Presidential address (no date). Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3192123?origin=crossref.