Haddon sundblom biography definition
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If you are looking for some new sources of inspiration, we’d like to introduce you to some distinctive artists, designers, and illustrators—both past and present—that we think ‘you should know.’ Some may be lesser known while others may seem vaguely familiar, either way you will discover unique talents that might just influence your next project.
The youngest of ten children to immigrant parents from Scandinavia, Haddon Hubbard Sundblom was born during the summer of 1899 in Muskegon, Michigan. Shortly after his mother’s death, he dropped out of school to help support his family. With only an 8th grade education, he spent the rest of his life in a continual quest for knowledge—taking years of correspondence courses and night school classes. Studies in architecture, commerce, and various artistic disciplines from noted establishments like the Chicago Art Institute and American Academy of Art rounded out his educational pursuits.1
In 1920, a 21-year-old Sundblom
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For many, the arrival of the festive season is marked by the annual re-emergence of a televisual advertising phenomenon which has captivated generations. Coca-Cola’s Christmas promotion has become synonymous with the spread of merry cheer; the familiar sight of red trucks adorned with spellbinding luminosities weaving into view signals the commencement of what is for many the most joyful time of the year. Festooned upon these glowing wagons are images of a white-bearded, red-suited, jolly old Saint Nicholas – an iconic image which has come to define the modern Santa Claus. The man responsible for this was Haddon Sundblom.
Born in 1899, in Muskegon, Michigan, Sundblom – known as ‘Sunny’ – would go on to arguably define 20th century advertising illustration. Raised in a Swedish speaking family, with his nine elder siblings, Sundblom dropped out of school at just thirteen in order to help provide for the family following his mother’s premature death. Despite a difficult adoles
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Haddon Sundblom was the American artist who created the beloved Coca Cola Santa, Aunt Jemima, Quaker Oats man and International Harvester’s poster girl, Irma Harding. Born in Michigan to Swedish emigrants, Carl W. Sundblom and Karoline Anderson, Haddon was the youngest of ten children. The Sundblom family fell on hard times losing their matriarch to tuberculosis, so Haddon dropped out of school to work and support the family. He went back to school through night classes, and eventually went on to at the Chicago Art Institute and the American Academy of Art. In 1920 Sundblom took a job as an illustrator at Charles Everett Johnson Studios in Chicago and by 1925 formed the studio of Steven’s, Sundblom & Henry.
Sundblom, fondly known as “Sunny,” started his 35-year relationship with Coca Cola in the 1931. He became an industry giant with his jolly depictions of Santa Clause unknowingly creating the modern interpretation of Old Saint Nick. Successful in the advertis