John La Gatta

La Gatta was born in Naples, Italy, to a well-connected family that traced its origins as far back as 1266 to the brother of King Louis IX of France. His family later immigrated to New York where La Gatta enrolled at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts to study under director Frank Parsons (1854-1908). The school would later be renamed as Parsons The New School for Design in honor of its former director. Highly skilled as a charcoal draftsman and portrayer of form and motion, La Gatta was quickly sought after to illustrate for "Life" magazine and N.W. Ayer, one of the early and largest advertising agencies. Over the years, his images have appeared in numerous magazines and advertisement campaigns for such popular companies as Coca Cola, Ajax Rubber Company, Ivory Soap and Lucky Strike Cigarettes.

An expert in illustrating the female form, his idealized and romantic figures were very popular and appeared in numerous women's fashion magazines and advertisements. It was said that "many beautiful women… would have hoped to be considered a La Gatta Girl." Unlike some artists, La Gatta preferred to draw directly from life rather than from photographs. He enjoyed the lively banter with his models and felt that he could better relate them to the viewers by knowing them personally.