Nicknamed "The Dean of Illustrators" by his peers. A cartoonist at 18 for Louisville Herald. By 1911 he was in the Chicago Tribune's Art department while studying at the city's Art Institute. In 1915 he moved to New York City, and studied under Harvey Dunn at the Art Students League of New York. Eventually he traveled to London to study mural painting as an apprentice to Frank Brangwyn. Oils for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, True, American Weekly, Life, Good Housekeeping. Book art for Man from Galilee and others. Ad contracts for GM, Eastern, Pennsylvania Railroad, Paul Jones Whiskey, Aunt Jemima, Seagram's Gin, Woodbury Soap, Palmolive, Coke, Goodyear, New York Life, Squibb. In the 20's, his work could often be found in Cosmopolitan Magazine providing large, dynamic illustrations for serialized novels and later in the books into which they were compiled. Excellent muralist in 1927 began a five-year period of mural painting in California including the Los Angeles Public Library and the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands. By the 30's and 40's, Dean Cornwell was a household name. His patriotic war posters and full-page color advertisements were everywhere. Other murals: Rockefeller Center, Bethlehem Steel, New York's General Motors Building, 1939 World's Fair.
