1975 W. Harold Hancock Original Painting View of Marco Island, Florida
This item has been sold.
Marco Island.
Original art for iconic Marco Island travel poster.
Original art for iconic Marco Island travel poster.
This W. Harold Hancock's c. 1975 original artwork bird's-eye view of Marco Island, Florida.A Closer Look
The view looks over Marco Island from a fictional highpoint to the west and highlights beach life, boating, local businesses, and eagles. From the 1970s, Marco Island, boasting a much-loved bird sanctuary, has been home to one of the largest and healthiest populations of American Bald Eagles in the United States. A pirate ship in the upper right references Marco Island's history as a haven for pirates.Publication History and Census
The artwork is part of a series of images Hancock produced to promote South Florida tourism. Other pieces include 'Sanibel and Captiva' and Fort Myers Beach. As original artwork, this piece is unique, but we are aware that posters were printed from the artwork, and while very rare, they do appear in a few private collections.Cartographer
William Harold Hancock (October 24, 1920 - July 11, 2006) was an American commercial artist and landscape illustrator based in Indiana, Fort Myers, Florida, and his native Illinois. Hancock was born in Harrisburg, Illinois. He emerged as a gifted artist in his teens, when he won a national poster contest. By high school he was already an active local artist, charging 35 cents to paint shop windows. In 1939, he turned down tradition college scholarships to open his own studio at age 18 in 1939, but left soon afterwards to serve as a military artist during World War II (1939 - 1945). After the war, he moved to Indiana and studied at the John Herron Art Institute. He travelled widely throughout the United States and beyond, maintaining studios at Lake Tahoe, Ft. Myers, and Newcastle in the United Kingdom, and working with a variety of subjects including landscapes and portraits. Further Details...
Condition
Average. Original watercolor and pen and ink. Laid on art board. Some loss and chipping. Dampstaining, upper left. As is.