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Biography of William L. Carqueville (1871-1946)

The following quotation is taken from American Art Posters of the 1890s, issued by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Carqueville learned lithography in the family firm of Shober and Carqueville, Chicago. This training stood him in good stead when the Philadelphia firm of J. B. Lippincott Company commissioned a series of monthly magazine posters. Lippincott's competition with the more famous Penfield series for Harper's was obvious even then to critics; and today, his posters have been described as imitations of Penfield. Such criticism is unnecessary. If anything, Carqueville's posters of 1894-95 more directly acknowledge the achievements of French contemporaries. He clearly understood commercial color printing and used this knowledge in his designs for Lippincott's. He also provided at least three posters, and probably a full complement of twelve, for the magazine International. He made stunning use of his printing knowledge in these bold two-color posters. In 1896, he went to Paris to pursue his art studies. On his return to America, he continued working as an illustrator in the Chicago area.