Comics: A Few Details About Alex Schomburg, Artist

 

Alex Schomburg was born Alejandro Schomburg on May 10, 1905 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico according to the Civil Registration at Ancestry.com. His death certificate had the name Alexander Anthony Schomburg. Schomburg’s parents were Guillermo Schomburg and Francisca Rosa.

The 1910 United States Census counted Schomburg (line 30) as the youngest of seven siblings who were Arturo, Guillermo, Carlos, Augusto, Oma and Federico. His father was a widower. The family and three housekeepers lived in San Cristobal, Puerto Rico.

On November 28, 1917, Schomburg (line 3) and his brother, Federico, were aboard the ship Coamo when it departed San Juan, Puerto Rico. They arrived in New York City on December 4, 1917. The passenger list recorded Schomburg’s birth date as April 24, 1906.

In the 1920 census the Schomburg brothers adopted new names. Carlos was Fred, an export salesman (he was Charles Frederick on his World War I draft card); Augusto was August, an artist; Federico was William, an export clerk; and fourteen-year-old Alejandro was Alex (line 94), a student. They lived in Manhattan at 630 West 124th Street.

The 1925 New York state census said Schomburg (line 43) and his brothers, Charles (aka Fred) and August, were commercial artists. They resided at 65 West 46th Street.
 

 

Schomburg married Helen Scott on November 7, 1928 in Manhattan. At the time, Schomburg lived at 587 Riverside Drive.

The 1930 census recorded Schomburg (line 24) and his wife in the Bronx at 1240 Walton Avenue. He was an artist in the film industry.

Schomburg’s brother, Charles, passed away on February 2, 1933. He was laid to rest at the Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium.

One of Schomburg’s clients was Thrilling Wonder Stories. The June 1939 issue profiled its contributors including Schomburg.

Born in N.Y.C. [sic] in 1905. Studied art under private teacher.

Started own studio about 15 years ago. Built window displays, illustrated song slides for theatre organists. Later sold business to slide manufacturer and worked for them. Four years later joined large film company as a staff artist.

First did magazine illustrations more as a hobby than anything else. Mostly Westerns and Detective stuff. One day the publisher asked me to do an illustration for Thrilling Wonder Stories. I had always been interested in science fiction and he liked the way I handled the art work.

I enjoy reading the story as much as doing the illustrations. In my opinion an illustration is very important. For instance, give the same story to two different persons ... then ask them to picture a certain scene. You can bet they’ll be entirely different.

According to the 1940 census, enumerated in April, Schomburg and his wife had a seven-year-old son, Richard. They were Bronx residents at 2165 Ryer Avenue. The artist earned $5,000 in 1939.

Schomburg signed his World War II draft card on October 16, 1940. His Bronx address was 2691 Reservoir Avenue. Schomburg was employed by the National Screen Service. His description was five feet four inches, 130 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.

A list of Schomburg’s comic book work is at Grand Comics Database. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has an overview of his career.

Manhattan city directories, from 1942 to 1946, listed Schomburg’s office at 690 Eighth Avenue. The 1947 Darien, Connecticut city directory said Schomburg, a commercial artist in New York, lived at 21 Green Avenue in New Canaan. That address was added to his draft card.

The 1950 census said Schomburg had an eight-year-old daughter, Diana. He was a self-employed commercial artist who earned $7,900 in 1949.

The 1955 Darien directory said Schomburg and his son, Richard, had moved to Seattle, Washington. Apparently they lived there a while then moved to Spokane. 

 

 

The Spokesman-Review, October 11, 1957, said

Two “Sputnik” Watchers Say they Saw It
Two Spokane residents yesterday reported they believed they saw the Russian Sputnik at around 5:45 a.m.

One was Alex Schomburg, N921 Burns road, who said he saw what looked like “a very bright star” directly overhead. The object, which he watched through binoculars, moved south out of sight, after “10 or 11 minutes.” ...

Schomburg was in the 1958 Spokane city directory. His address was N921 Burns Road. In 1962 Schomburg moved to Newberg, Oregon.

Schomburg’s daughter, Diana, was an artist who was profiled in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, May 11, 1964.

In the early 1960s, Schomburg painted mural for Portland General Electric. The story of Schomburg’s work was told in the Sunday Oregonian, January 29, 2014. Restoration of the painting was told here and here.

On April 11, 1970, Schomburg filed a claim for Social Security benefits.

In 1977 Schomburg did commissions for Collectors Showcase which auctioned the paintings.

Schomburg was a convention guest at the 1976 Portland Alliance of Fans; 1977 All-American Comic Con in Portland; Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association’s 1979 Moscon 1 in Moscow, Idaho; Portland Science Fiction Society’s 1979 OryCon; and 1984 Westercon 37.

Schomburg was featured in the Oregon Journal, June 28, 1977, and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction, August 1979. Steve Duin, political columnist of The Oregonian, produced two illustrated profiles of Schomburg. A four-page article appeared in the Sunday Oregonian’s Northwest Magazine, March 24, 1991. Comic Book Marketplace, August 1995, published a seven-page feature. Material from those profiles appeared in his 1998 book, Comics, Between the Panels.

Schomburg’s brother, August, passed away in February 1973 in New Jersey. His wife, Helen, died on February 26, 1985 in Oregon. Three years later his daughter, Diana, died on October 4, 1988.

Schomburg passed away on April 7, 1998. An obituary appeared in The Oregonian, April 10, 1998.

A funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday, April 10, 1998, in Attrell’s Funeral Chapel in Newberg for Alex Schomburg, who died April 7 at age 92.

Mr. Schomburg was born May 10, 1905, in Agiadilla, Puerto Rico. He moved to New York City as a youth and worked in his bothers’ commercial art business, whose clients included Great Northwestern Railway. He later illustrated comic books, pulp magazines and science fiction novels, for which he attained prominence. He lived in Spokane from 1954 until moving to the Newberg area in 1962. In 1928, he married Helen Scott; she died in 1985.

Survivors include his son, Richard of Hillsboro; and five grandchildren. A daughter, Diana Beaudry Thiessen, died in 1988.

Interment will be in Valley View Memorial Park in Newberg.

The Comics Journal, May 1998, published an obituary.

Schomburg’s son, Richard, died on February 17, 2015 according to a death notice in The Oregonian, March 15, 2015.

 

Further Reading and Viewing

Digital Comic Museum photograph
Space Art
Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future
Encyclopedia of Collectible Children’s Books: Identification & Values
The Art of Alex Schomburg
Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists

 

(Next post on Monday: Art Direction 1962)