{Vintage Show and Tell} The Famous Artists Painting Course

Remember those advertisements on matchbooks or in the backs of old comic books promising that if you could draw Tippy the Turtle you could win a scholarship and become a famous artist?

I always wondered about those, so when I found this set of four huge canvas covered binders for three dollars, they were definitely coming home with me.

It turns out that Tippy was advertising for Art Instruction Schools and my set is from the Famous Artists Painting Course.

Close enough!

Someone spent a lot of money on these and enrolled in January of 1969, then only completed the first four lessons. The forms to cut out and return with the other submissions are still in the binders.

 I wonder what happened. These would have been a huge investment at the time. In 1950 the course was three hundred dollars and I can't image that it got any less expensive before this edition came out in 1965.

I thought my son might want to flip through these, but he'd rather learn painting by trial and error or through online videos. I can't say that I blame him -- Bob Ross is a lot more fun!