William Oberhardt

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Oberhardt's illustration for the first issue of Time
Oberhardt's illustration for the first issue of Time

William Oberhardt (1882-1958) was an American artist, portrait painter, lllustrator and sculptor. His illustration of Joseph Gurney Cannon, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, appeared on the cover of the first edition of Time magazine on 3 March 1923.

Oberhardt was born in Guttenberg, New Jersey and studied at the National Academy of Design from 1897 to 1900, and then studied in Munich with Carl Von Marr at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He painted formal portraits in oil, but charcoal, crayons and lithographic crayon were his favorite mediums. He worked most of his career in New York City and lived in North Pelham, New York.

In the 1920s and '30s Oberhardt was among the best-known and most popular illustators in the U.S. Among his subjects were Presidents William H. Taft, Warren G. Harding and Herbert Hoover; the inventor Thomas Edison and the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. His portrait of Harding appeared on the cover of Time's second issue. He was also well-known for his patriotic and recruiting posters in both world wars.