The LIFE and ART of HARRY KANE
Harry Kane was a twentieth century illustrator and artist who was born Harry Kirchner on July 2, 1912. Primarily known for his work on the children's books, "Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators", he had an amazing career that spanned over 50 years. Paperback covers, advertising art, men's adventure magazines, movie posters and more. In fact, it's hard to imagine another artist who had a more prolific career, in such a wide variety of work.
Harry was a self taught artist who was born in Philadelpha. When he was younger, Harry cut high school to go to the zoo and draw animals. He was extremely knowledgeable about art history and contemporary art and his thirst to better his skills led him to books by Howard Pyle and NC Wyeth, which he studied closely. Harry's career began during the great depression when he and a few of his artist friends left Philadelphia for the bright lights and big dreams of New York City. It was difficult to find employment in this troubling time in American history, but Harry had one thing going for him that many others didn't have... talent. The job hunt began around 1930 and eventually led to the door of Street and Smith Publications, one of his first paying jobs, drawing for Western Story Magazine.
Anti-Semitism was rampant at this time and Harry, being of Russian/Jewish descent, found it necessary to change his professional name from Kirchner to Kane in order to get work. How he came up with the name Kane is still a mystery. After spending some time with the Westerns, he moved on to another Street and Smith publication, Detective Story Magazine, where Harry graduated from interiors to covers. ---->
Harry eventually got married to his wife Minna and they lived in Greenwich Village for a while. World War II began and Harry was drafted and sent to Hawaii to be a map maker. In 1941, Harry and his wife had their first child, a son they named Eugene. They soon realized that their son was mentally ill and he had to spend much of his life in an institution. Life was hard for Minna, as Harry was stationed in Hawaii,
as she was left to raise Eugene on her own. She petitioned the army to release Harry early to help with Eugene but to no avail. The war ended in 1945 and Harry was one of the first people to come home. Upon returning from the war Harry and Minna saw the birth of their next child, Hadiya, in 1946, with another daughter, Janice, coming along not long after. Harry spent much of his free time with his ailing son and his relationship with his daughters would suffer because of it.
When Harry returned from the war he found his job was no longer waiting for him, so he began taking freelance jobs. He did work for Seagrams, Schlitz beer, Calso Gasoline Company, Phillip Morris and much more. In the mid-1960's Random House hired Harry to work on a new set of children's books called "Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators". Harry worked on most of the covers and interiors of the first 16 books and the series proved to be very popular, going on to sell millions of copies, but Harry felt like he wasnt getting compensated enough and eventually left the series over money. ---->
Harry and Hadiya - Circa 1947
Things became difficult in the 1960's when photography became popular and Harry had to adapt. He began taking work in the movies, a field that interested him greatly. He did many movie posters and storyboarding during this period of his life. Work was really drying up and Harry was struggling to keep afloat. It caused a strain on his marriage and, in 1970, he and Minna were divorced. Harry had to get work wherever he could and so he turned to his sister's son, who worked for an advertising firm. His nephew got his uncle jobs here and there when he could.
By the 1980's Harry was slowing down and his health was declining. He didn't take on many illustration jobs, but liked to spend his free time learning set design. Harry eventually had to be moved to a nursing home, where he died in 1988.
Much of Harry's artwork burned in a house fire in the mid-90's, but thanks to the success of "The Three Investigators",
Harry Kane will not be forgotten.
Harry Posing For One of
His Own Illustrations
