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Ken Laager is a traditional illustrator who is renowned
for his command of pictorial storytelling, an influence he acquired by studying
the work and teaching of Howard Pyle, the father of American illustration.
A native New Yorker, Ken started freelancing in 1974 by drawing the daily newspaper comic According to Guinness, which was nationally syndicated. A few years later, his wildlife and hunting illustrations (including early cover paintings) appeared regularly in the magazine Pennsylvania Game News, a publication of his adopted home state. In 1980, he began a long running association with Outdoor Life by painting covers, story illustrations, and drawing the popular monthly action feature This Happened To Me, which he continues to do to this day. Throughout the 1990s, Ken was the most sought-after and influential western illustrator in the paperback field. The "western fine art" look that he established primarily for Bantam Books, was imitated by many other cover artists. Husberg Fine Arts, in Scottsdale, Arizona, has always been Ken's exclusive western art showplace. Many of his large historical paintings sell before the gallery can frame and hang them for exhibition! A member of the Society of Illustrators, Ken has been an Annual Show Merit Award winner on four occasions. At present, his clients include The Franklin Mint, for whom Ken has enjoyed handling such diverse subject material as Elvis Presley, Pope John Paul II, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, The Phantom of the Opera and The Wizard of Oz. A select number of talented young men have assisted and understudied Ken in the studio over the years. And, not unlike Howard Pyle, Ken has handed down his knowledge of the illustrator's craft to them. He regards the successes of Daniel R. Horne, Larry Selman, Matt Stawicki, Duane O. Myers, Mark Zug, Bradley Schmehl and Jason Delancey with pride. Ken Laager and his wife Jane live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of a grown son and daughter. Nat is a US Marine Corps veteran who lives in Arizona and Maryanne is a Duquesne University foreign language major. Fencing, shooting, and studying French are among Ken's recreational interests.
All Rights Reserved on all images appearing within these web pages.
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