I love it when Regina Holliday (@ReginaHolliday) sends me things. I always follow-up.
I hadn’t and thanks to my local library, which I love (@dcpl), I now have.
.@tedeytan Have you seen this work? Before Rockwell, a Gay Artist Defined Perfect American Male https://t.co/Hc2Ye6X3HA via @collectorswkly
— Regina Holliday (@ReginaHolliday) February 14, 2016
I’m posting about it here because Leyendecker’s story reminds me of a comment Regina herself made to me once, which was that she is not seen as an artist by some in the art world. That kind of floors me.
Leyendecker, in his career, influenced everything from the appearance of Santa Claus, to the creation of Mother’s Day, to modern day advertising and really American culture as we know it. The illustrations are breathtaking. I would say similar to many of the ones that Regina creates.
Sadly, the artist’s sexual orientation was a part of himself that he could not bring to public life, and it may have shortened his. We’ll never know. I have to believe someone will make a movie out of this story one day.
Maybe the Regina Hollidays of today’s world aren’t seen as artists by some. Or their diversity of thought, presence, and ideals isn’t understood by everyone, but they are propelling our society forward. One of the things that’s special about her to me is that she recognizes and reflects the diversity around her. It’s visible in the 140 characters above. I don’t see this in a lot of leaders today.
Which is why I walk with her, in the future, where we live 🙂 .
