John DePol

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John DePol (September 16, 1913 – December 13, 2004) was a New York printmaker and wood engraver. He was perhaps best known for his illustrations of the Benjamin Franklin keepsakes over a period of over 25 years.

Shows of his art include a one-man show at the Florham-Madison Campus Library in 1997 (see References, below).

Biography

John DePol was born September 16, 1913, in Greenwich Village, New York, where he was raised, the eldest of three children of Theresa and Joseph DePol. His father's death, when John was still a boy, influenced his decision to leave high school early to help support the family — his mother, brother William, and sister Genevieve.

DePol worked as a securities runner on

during the latter half of October 1929, and only then discovered his fortune merely in holding on to a job at a time when many were losing theirs in the Depression. In the evening DePol attended night school, where he learned typing and shorthand, which were to prove useful for his later stenographic and secretarial positions in civilian and military life - the first of these through a company promotion into a special investments department.

From an early age, guided by his love of art, DePol devoted himself in his spare time to becoming a self-taught artist. He would sketch the streets, landmark buildings and waterfront scenes of Manhattan, and scrutinized gallery windows, studying the etchings of various artists. Decades later he would recall how he was drawn to the masters:

Although John DePol is known as a master of wood engraving, he also produced prints by etching with

.

Throughout his life, John DePol returned to the New York City of his birth for inspiration. Many of his earliest artwork was of the lower Manhattan neighborhood he grew up in. Over the years, he continued to make engravings of the buildings, skyline and neighborhoods of the city.

Further reading

• Michael Joseph, Out of Retirement: the Later Wood Engravings of John DePol (2010. Rutgers University Libraries, New Brunswick, NJ)
• David Godine, Five Decades of the Burin: the Wood Engravings of John DePol (2004. David Godine, Boston)
• John DePol - a catalogue raisonne of his graphic work (2001. Book Club of California)
• Cathleen A. Baker and John DePol, Endgrain designs and repetitions - the pattern papers of John DePol (2000. The Legacy Press, Tuscaloosa, AL)
• John DePol and the Typophiles (1998)

External links

Archives at
Location University of Toronto Archives & Records Management Services  Identifiers MS COLL 00410  Source John DePol Collection
How to use archival material

References

• Florham-Madison exhibit
• University of Delaware's DePol Collection Exhibit
• The John DePol Collection--The Morristown & Morris Township Public Library