Victor Seach - The "Falcon Junkie" Cover artist
There is a certain segment of the vintage paperback cover artist cadre that fits in as "one shot wonders". Victor Seach (1912-1990) may be at the head of the class for that segment of illustrators.
The Falcon Books 1st Edition of "Junkie" by Jonathan Craig is one of the most iconic of vintage paperback covers, and its creator is a bit of a cool odd hipster - as you'll see in in a minute.
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Although I have yet to find another image of any of Seach's advertising work, other than an LP cover in the 1960's, there is a reference to him in a 1948 article on an exhibit at the gallery of The Artists League of America in New York
"Victor Seach pays the rent by doing those little line drawings that clutter up movie ads in newspapers, but he paints in an entirely different manner, using powerful distortion to achieve good compositional balance and emotional impact."
That little reference to his commercial (and his gallery) work in 1948 is but a sliver, however it is enough to conclude that this artist is, indeed the Victor Seach who painted the Falcon Junkie cover in 1952. The name is uncommon enough (and contracted from his Hungarian derived birth name) and the evidence on his census records connect him to the Commercial art world enough to recognize him as a "typical" starving artist who was moved in the direction of abstract art in his lifetime but was good enough at natural drafting to support himself with commercial work. He also signed the Falcon Junkie in capital letters, an element that he repeated on almost every work where he printed the name rather than signed in script.
His quick bio, courtesy of The Swann Galleries (and basically copied/summarized on all of the usual art reference sites):
"Born in New York City, Seach studied at the National Academy of Design. He lived and worked in Harlem before serving in the Army during World War II in Europe. When he returned to New York City, he set up a studio in Greenwich Village and focused on painting abstraction. Due to a lack of support from the gallery scene, Seach returned to Europe in 1962 and eventually settled in Belgium in 1971. Seach worked closely and exhibited with African-American artists Harold Cousins and Joan Aghib in Brussels."
Seach was born Victor Gustav Szucs in New York on January 28th, 1912. His parents, Gustav and Anna were both born in Hungary and immigrated to the USA in 1911 per the census records. In 1920, they are living at 474 Brooks Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Gustav is listed as "Barber" and Victor has a younger sister Elsie, age 5. In 1940, Victor was listed in the census as Victor Szucs, 28 years old, living with his parents at 2958 Roberts Avenue, Bronx, New York. Victor's occupation is listed as "Artist" and "Own", as in self-employed. His sister Elsie is not listed in the household at this time. (She is listed in the 1950 Census as Elsie Meyer (35), married to Albert Meyer (37) with Gustav Szucs listed as Father-In-Law, living in their household at the time)
I have not been able to find Szucs in the 1930 census as of yet. This is a common problem as many people were displaced during the depression and even the powerful AI of Ancestry.com has its limitations. I have found several works of Seachs' works from the 1930's under his birth name of Victor Szucs, all in that Art Deco very rounded, exaggerated proportion style. Many of them reference the Spanish Civil War and/or have political commentary themes.
Print, A Criminal Justice Satire, signed "Szucs", 1930's
Print, terrified men and machine gun, signed "Szucs" on the print and "Victor Szucs" in the margin. 1930's
Print, woman and child with protestors outside, signed "Victor Szucs" dated 1936
Print, men look away, striker strangled, signed "Victor Szucs" dated 1939
Although it is not the point of this article to delve into Seachs' political views, from the record presented, aside from the contents of the prints above, there is some evidence that infers he was involved in Leftist/Marxist activities, at least in his early life.
He illustrated a story titled "We Love Dictators" in the March 1937 issue of "The Fight Against War and Fascism" a publication of the American League Against War and Fascism, an organization formed in 1933 by the Communist Party USA and pacifists united by their concern as Nazism and Fascism rose in Europe. (Per https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/fight/index.htm )
We Love Dictators, Fight, March 1937
We Love Dictators, Fight, March 1937
There is little record I've been able to uncover concerning his work in the 1940's, although the bio above contends he was in the military in WWII. His 1941 Draft Card lists his employer as "Kent Studio Services, Inc. at 385 Madison Avenue, New York. So he was indeed employed in advertising. Since the draft cards were updated as the draftees moved around, you can see multiple addresses, including in Cleveland Ohio, that were listed as his contact and at some point "Seach" was typed on the card, although he printed and signed the card as "Szucs" originally in 1941.
The record shows he married Bernice S. Cohen on January 15th, 1941. He is listed as "Artist" on the marriage record. Witnesses were Sylvia L. Freeman and Jennie Cohen (apparently her mother).
He does have a text mention in "The Film Daily" April 9th 1947 trade newspaper that reads "Victor Seach, Eagle Lion's home office staff artist, is exhibiting 7 canvases at the Laurel Gallery 48 E. 57th St. It's his first showing since his discharge from the Army a year ago."
Jazz Singer - 1948. An example of Seachs' gallery work in the late 1940's. He seems to channel Picasso here.
In the 1950 census, Seach, (38 years old) is living at 95-08 Queens Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens, New York, married to Eleanor (30), no children, with the "Seach" name usage. His occupation is "Proprietor, Free Lance Artist" Eleanor does not appear to be a nickname for Bernice Cohen, as Bernice appears to be using the surname "Selden" by this time, indicating that she had divorced and remarried at some point and Seach remarried to Eleanor. I have not located a marriage record to Eleanor at this time.
As noted in the bio, the New York gallery scene never paid off big enough for Seach so he traveled to Europe in 1962 and there is a fair record that he exhibited with two African American artists, Harold Cousins and Joan Aghib in Brussels, Belgium.
Three Americans In Brussels. Victor Seach (left sitting), Joan Aghib and Harold Cousins (Standing)
By this time Seach was painting fully abstract works for gallery showing. A show review dated in 1976 noted that Seach "gives rein to strange tonalities and audacious combinations. The result is a body of work that fairly sings, with movement kept high on the surface, like a printed circuit, and joyous intervals of space
Victor Seach gallery reviews for his abstract "Brussels Boogie Woogie" Suite in 1976
Although it appears he was dedicated to his gallery showings, he continued to have a toe in the water of commercial art, evidenced by his European Record album covers, of which I've been able to locate one image of.
I have found very little so far on Seach's life activities after going to Europe, other than that he continued to make the art that can be found on line. His death date in the Social Security Administration is given as November 21, 1990. This was a lot of digging for a guy who may have only painted one vintage paperback cover, but I found him interesting, and it is such an iconic cover image that it felt worth it to pursue his bio for posterity.
I appreciate your "irrational love" for these things. Thanks for my continuing education in "these things"!
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. It's kind of fun to get these things published permanently, rather than just posts on Facebook or a message board that will never get searched by Google
DeleteVery cool work, Lowell. Your scholarship on artists and creators is a real gift to all collectors!
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