The art of the American Dream

An enthralling overview of the astonishing artistic skill of the leading lifestyle illustrators of the period, Lifestyle Illustration of the 50s reveals the changing social aspirations of the post-war generation and their growing optimism for the future. Featuring over 1,000 beautiful and stylistically diverse illustrations, this volume charts the decade's progression as the new younger generation emerged from post- war austerity to shape a new, more aspirational culture. All the work is from women's magazine romantic fiction, and it is amazing how more than a hundred artists manage to find so many creative ways to show essentially the same thing: the emotional reaction between a man and a woman. From stylish and urbane young couples in romantic clinches to professional men and women exploring their new-found affluence and growing independence, this book provides an unsurpassed insight into the changing styles, fashions, dreams and social mores of the Fifties. The Fifties was an era of forward-looking optimism, and the hopes and desires of these postwar years were elegantly captured in the stunning artwork of the period.