Monte Crews

Monte Crews was an American illustrator and cartoonist who contributed to national magazines between 1908 and 1946. While Crews established his career in New York, he frequently returned to his home state of Missouri.

Monte Kendrick Crews was born on June 1, 1888, in Fayette, Missouri, where his father owned a grocery store. After graduating from high school in 1905, Crews attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago with George Bridgman. In 1908, he received a scholarship from the Art Students League of New York. During his time as a student, he lived with author Homer Croy, who fondly recalled that his three favorite activities were "drawing pictures, eating ice cream, and making noise."

After completing his education, Monte Crews returned to Fayette, Missouri, and worked briefly as a salesman at his father's grocery store. He began selling freelance illustrations to magazines including Baseball Magazine, Leslie's Weekly, Red Book and The American Magazine. In 1915, he opened the first movie theater in Fayette. Crews began his first comic strip, titled The Mysterious Family Next Door, in 1921, which was briefly published through the McClure Syndicate. However, the next year he was in a car accident and almost went blind, forcing him to stop drawing during his recovery.

Monte Crews arrived in Kansas City in 1926 to continue his career as an artist. The next year, he was hired at the Kansas City Art Institute to teach poster design and illustration. Many of his students went on to become professional illustrators. While teaching, he continued working for magazines including Boys' Life, Liberty, Colliers, and The Saturday Evening Post. Crews created comic strips for pulp magazines including Argosy and Blue Book Magazine. His drawings appeared in the Kansas City Star Magazine accompanying short stories, and he illustrated James Craig's 1928 novel Kettle Drums and Tom Toms.

Monte Crews left Kansas City In 1933 and resettled in New York. He taught at the Phoenix Art Institute (1933-1938), Pratt Institute (1938-1944), and Moore Institute of Art, Science and Industry (1944-1946). Crews died suddenly at his New Jersey home on October 5, 1946. He left behind a prolific body of illustrations that shaped American print culture through their appearance in national magazines, books and newspapers.