This Coca-Cola advertisement could only be accomplished by an illustrator in the mid-twentieth century. Today, this scene could be copied through photo-manipulation software or AI. But painting was the go-to medium for the illustrator who understood the human anatomy and had the faultless ability to capture everyday life and all that it entails in a composition that draws the viewer into the moment.
George Bernard Whitcomb (1920-48) was an American artist and illustrator from South Bend, Indiana, who earned a full scholarship to the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, securing his early promise. He worked as a commercial artist for Grauman Advertising in Chicago, creating some iconic full-page Coca-Cola ads seen in Life Magazine and Saturday Evening Post.
Due to his untimely death at twenty-seven from heart failure, accentuated by damage from childhood rheumatic fever, Whitcomb was buried three days later on his birthday. Understandably, records of his professional work are limited, and most online searches will default to another more famous Whitcomb artist, Jon (1906-1988).
