Rico Tomaso
Rico Tomaso (21 February 1898 in Chicago, Illinois – August 1985 in New York, New York) was an illustrator and painter. His works were featured in magazines, novels, and sold as paintings and lithograph prints. In his youth, Tomaso played the piano for a dance orchestra in which he met drummer Dean Cornwell, who also became a famous illustrator and an influence on Tomaso's own style.
Rico Tomaso
Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, illustration by Rico Tomaso · Self scan from The American Magazine for March 1938 (pp. 12–13) · Public domain
- Born
- 1898
- Died
- 1985
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter
- Fields
- portrait
- Education
- Art Students League of New York
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Rico Tomaso (21 February 1898 in Chicago, Illinois – August 1985 in New York, New York) was an illustrator and painter. His works were featured in magazines, novels, and sold as paintings and lithograph prints. In his youth, Tomaso played the piano for a dance orchestra in which he met drummer Dean Cornwell, who also became a famous illustrator and an influence on Tomaso's own style.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Rico Tomaso. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7332287 · wikipedia · Rico Tomaso
In this article
Works
Illustration historian Walt Reed wrote that Tomaso's "work mostly resembled Cornwell's in concept and broad brush style." John T. McCutcheon, a family friend and cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune, encouraged Tomaso's artistic talent. Tomaso studied at the Art Institute of Chicago with Wellington J. He also studied at the Art Students League of New York with teachers including Dean Cornwell, Robert Henri and Harvey Dunn.
• Illustration — Rico Tomaso illustration of Nero Wolfe for The American Magazine serialization of Too Many Cooks (1938) As an illustrator in New York, Tomaso worked for clients such as Granger Pipe Tobacco and Lambert Pharmacal. He frequently contributed to such periodicals as the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post. He was at his best illustrating tales of high adventure, including the Albert Richard Wetjen stories about the Mounted Police of South Australia, or mysteries, such as Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. As a fine artist he was represented by the Grand Central Art Galleries and by Jean Bohne, Inc., in New York. Tomaso taught at the Grand Central School of Art, taking the classes of Harvey Dunn when the class was moved to Mamaroneck, New York.
Illustration from The American Magazine printing of Too Many Cooks (1938), a Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout, serialized in six installments (March–August 1938)
Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, illustration by Rico Tomaso · Self scan from The American Magazine for March 1938 (pp. 14–15)
Illustration from The American Magazine printing of Too Many Cooks (1938), a Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout, serialized in six installments (March–August 1938)
Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, illustration by Rico Tomaso · Self scan from The American Magazine for April 1938 (page 25)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Rico Tomaso”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7332287: Rico Tomaso
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Who's who in American Art. 1938.
- 2.Rico Tomaso. AncientFaces.
- 3.Reed, Walt The Illustrator in America, 1860–2000. New York: Watson Guptill Publications, 2001, page 253
- 4.Joseph C. Lincoln, Rico Tomaso (illust.) "The Shale-Bastable Boots" - Ladies' Home Journal vol. LII (11): 23, 76–86 Nov 1935 Philadelphia: Curtis Publishing 9
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
19,261 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Richard YeoArtist
- Richard ZimmermannArtist
- Rick AmorArtist
- Rick BartowArtist
- Ridolfo del GhirlandaioArtist
- Riek de RaatArtist
- Rigaud BenoitArtist
- Rigo 23Artist
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Rico Tomaso?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.