Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951) Goodbye Summer (Farewell to Summer), The Saturday Evening Post cover, September 15, 1934 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61.0 cm) Signed lower right with artist's monogram: JCLeyendecker Titled lower center: GOODBYE - SVMMER Property from the Michael Dolas Family Collection PROVENANCE: The artist; Michael Dolas, acquired from the above; By descent to the present owners. EXHIBITED: National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, Rhode Island, n.d.; Haggin Museum, Stockton, California, "Michael Dolas: Capturing the Character of His Country," January 17-February 24, 2019. LITERATURE: The Saturday Evening Post, September 15, 1934, cover; M. Schau, J.C. Leyendecker, New York, 1974, p. 152, illustrated; K. Steine, F. B. Taraba, American Illustrators Poster Book: The J.C. Leyendecker Collection, Portland, Oregon, 1996, p. 53, illustrated; L.S. Cutler, J.G. Cutler, J.C. Leyendecker, American Imagist, New York, 2008, p. 209, illustrated. Joseph Christian Leyendecker was a defining figure in the Golden Age of American Illustration. A gifted draftsman with a keen sense of design, he painted more than 300 covers for The Saturday Evening Post, helping shape the magazine's visual identity and reinforcing national ideals of American life. He favored strong silhouettes, concentrated action, and details that could suggest a larger story without explaining it. When the Post adopted four-color printing in 1926, its covers could reproduce the full effect of his vivid palettes and distinctive technique. Goodbye Summer demonstrates how readily he could turn a casual occasion into a striking image. In Goodbye Summer, a stylish woman strides along beneath an expansive yellow hat, flowers gathered in her arms and a gloved hand raised in farewell. A small dog trots at her heels. Beside her, a porter carries an unwieldy collection of luggage and golf clubs. Leyendecker builds the story from these opposing gestures: she seems reluctant to let the pleasures of summer end, while he is already occupied with the work of getting everyone home. Bright yellows and pinks enliven the woman's dress and flowers, while the darker uniform and luggage give the composition weight. Leyendecker's emblematic short, hatched brushstrokes describe the folds of fabric and the varied surfaces. Even the lettering along the lower edge becomes part of the design, giving a name to the moment his figures have already made clear. Leyendecker understood well that a cover had to communicate with a reader before they even picked up the magazine. With its fashionable detail and immediate visual appeal, Goodbye Summer brings together the qualities that made Leyendecker such an effective Post cover artist. Goodbye Summer comes from the Michael Dolas Family Collection, having been acquired directly from Leyendecker by Michael Dolas (1912–2010), a prominent contemporary and personal friend of the artist. An esteemed illustrator himself, Dolas's work appeared on the covers and interior pages of national magazines, illustrating stories by writers including Ernest Hemingway. His close relationships with Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell offered him an unusually intimate perspective on the storytelling and compositional methods of two of America's most influential illustrators. When Leyendecker invited Dolas to select a number of his original Post cover paintings, Dolas handpicked ten, including Goodbye Summer. He intended them as a "teaching collection," choosing works that demonstrated the range of Leyendecker's talents and that he regarded as among the artist's strongest covers. The present painting thus carries the distinction of having been selected by a fellow illustrator who knew Leyendecker personally and understood his achievement from the perspective of a practicing artist. Dolas cherished these paintings throughout his life, storing them under his bed before passing them down to his children. In 2019, the Haggin Museum exhibited works from the group alongside Dolas's own illustrations, bringing that artistic relationship into public view. Preserved within the family, Goodbye Summer offers a direct connection to Leyendecker through the discerning eye of an artist who chose it for his own collection. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, Rhode Island, n.d.; Haggin Museum, Stockton, California, "Michael Dolas: Capturing the Character of His Country," January 17-February 24, 2019.

The artist; Michael Dolas, acquired from the above; By descent to the present owners.

Unlined. Stretcher bar marks visible along extreme outer edges. Under UV examination: scattered fine lines and dashes of inpaint in the white background, most noticeably corresponding to stretcher bar marks, and in the upper right corner.
Framed Dimensions 37.25 X 29.25 Inches