John Falter

John Falter was a renowned illustrator and painter, best known for his celebrity portraits and depictions of western migration. Born in 1910, his family moved to Falls City, Nebraska, where he began creating a comic strip for the local newspaper. Noticed by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist J.M. Darling, Falter was encouraged to pursue illustration professionally. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Students League in New York, eventually landing a commission with Liberty magazine in 1933. By the 1940s, he was working with major clients like Gulf Oil, 4 Roses Whiskey, and Pall Mall, and creating 185 covers for The Saturday Evening Post from 1943 to 1969. During World War II, Falter designed over 300 Navy recruiting posters and illustrated for major magazines. His work, which spanned historical, western, and jazz themes, earned him induction into the Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1976. His legacy includes over 200 western-themed paintings, notably commemorating westward migration.