John DePol Research Collection

John DePol (1913-2004), artist and wood engraver, is considered to be one of the great exemplars in the field of wood engraving, having produced thousands of images for commercial graphic design and for private presses and fine printers.

Born in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1913, DePol left school at age thirteen to help support the family, and worked as a statistical clerk and securities runner on Wall Street. An ardent interest in art led him to make drawings of sights he saw around the city, and study art in library books. He also took night classes in lithography at the Art Students League. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Corps, and while on duty in Northern Ireland, he continued his lithography studies at the College of Art in Belfast. During this time he also sketched the sights and scenes of Ireland, images that would later form the basis for many prints and book illustrations, including his own Ireland Remembered: A GI’s Recollection (1982).

After the war, DePol began a career as a graphic designer, working as a production assistant for the L.F. White Company, a commercial printing firm. He began doing wood engraving in 1947. He continued to work for a number of commercial publishing companies, and also received independent commissions illustrating private-press booklets, separate prints, broadsides, and limited edition books. After his retirement from commercial illustration in 1978, DePol remained active illustrating private press books, producing individual prints, and teaching wood engraving in workshops at Farleigh Dickinson University.

He received many honors for his work including election as a National Academician by the National Academy of Design and Laureate, New York Printers Wall of Fame. John DePol died in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, on December 15, 2004.