“John Fleming Gould was born February 14, 1906 in Worcester, Massachusetts. His parents were Julia E. Gould and George M. Gould. The father was a plumber. They lived at 39 Richards Street. At first there were two boys, John, and his older brother George. George died of a childhood illness at the age of six in 1911.” (1)
“After this tragic death the family moved to Illinois, where their son Robert was born in 1912. In 1915 the family moved to Brooklyn, New York City, where their daughter Marian was born. They lived at 1502 Bushwick Avenue. The father worked as a plumber throughout the neighborhood. He was often hired by the janitor of the building two-doors away at 1498 Bushwick. That janitor's name was Henry Baumhofer, and his thirteen-year-old son was Walter Baumhofer, who became John Gould's best friend. They went to school together and played together after school.” (2)
“Their lives changed abruptly during one of their escapades when they found a box of live ammunition. While attempting mischief one round exploded and blew off Baumhofer's thumb and parts of two fingers on his left hand.” (1)
“They later attended Bushwick High School on Irving Avenue and Woodbine Streets in Brooklyn, where they met Frank Kramer and William Ralph Keifer, both of whose fathers happened to be janitors at other public schools. All four students were German-Americans with natural drawing talent and a shared ambition to become successful illustrators.” (2)
“In his senior year John Gould was elected President of the Class. After graduation all four attended the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, where they studied under Dean Cornwell and H. Winfield Scott.” (1)
“After college they rented studio space together along with seven other guys, at 161 West 23rd Street, New York. (Rent was $90 a month for the whole top floor of the building.) John Gould started illustrating Pulp magazines in 1927.” (3)
“While looking for free-lance work, John Gould decided to use his mother's maiden name, Fleming, instead of his own middle name, Francis, because he hoped it would make him seem more like an established artist, such as James Montgomery Flagg and Charles Dana Gibson, and John Newton Howitt.” (2)
“Danger Trails was his first assignment. Soon he was working for Cowboy Stories, Astounding Stories, and Blue Book, and in those days was receiving $10-15 per illustration. Gould worked with Harry Steeger when he was an editor at Dell Publications. After Steeger struck out on his own in 1930 to form Popular Publications, he offered Gould a deal he couldn’t refuse: $8 per illustration, but all the work he wanted. At Popular, Gould did all the illustrations for every issue of The Spider, G-8 and His Battle Aces, and Operator #5, among others, until he left the Pulps behind in 1942.” (3)
“In 1940 he married his wife, Mary Gould. They raised three sons, Robert, William, and Paul.” (1)
“For more than twenty years, Gould was an art consultant for General Electric Company's Locomotive Division, producing hundreds of illustrations for their corporate publications and advertising. He also taught at Pratt Institute for 22 years.” (4)
“Gould was also an accomplished aviation artist. He sold interior illustrations to Dell’s WAR BIRDS, Fiction House’s ACES, AIR STORIES, and WINGS, and to Harry Steeger’s BATTLE ACES. When Popular Publications converted the latter to G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES in late 1933, Gould was ready. He created every interior illustration for the magazine through 1941, when he left the pulp field. Although John Gould destroyed most of his original art when he left New York City in 1950, he saved over 3000 magazine tear sheets and many sketches that were used in preliminary compositions. Additionally, he kept notebooks that contained story titles, their publishers, and how much he was paid for each illustration. Gould also saved correspondence that complimented the depth and clarity of his story illustrations, revealing a great deal about how the artist expressed himself in his work.” (5)
“From 1957 to 1965, Gould created a series of illustrations, called Progress Posters, that were distributed bimonthly to schools and colleges nationwide. Each poster included explanatory text about the latest scientific advancement, accompanied by Gould's drawings showing the practical applications.” (6)
“In 1957 his father, George Methley Gould, died in NYC at the age of seventy-five. After his father's death John Fleming Gould retired from illustration and moved to Newburgh, NY, to open a private art school and art gallery. On April 22, 1995 his wife, Mary (O'Sullivan) Gould, died in New Windsor, NY, at the age of eighty-eight. John Fleming Gould died in New Windsor, NY, at the age of ninety on May 26, 1996.”
(2)
Reference
1. Askart Staff. John Gould (1906-1996) [internet]. Askart [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.askart.com/artist_bio/John_Fleming_Gould/28865/John_Fleming_Gould.aspx
2. Saunders, D. John Fleming Gould (1906-1996) [internet]. Pulp Artists; 2009 [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.pulpartists.com/Gould.html
3. Age of Aces Books Staff. John Fleming Gould [internet]. Age of Aces Books [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: http://www.ageofaces.net/authors-artists/john-fleming-gould/
4. Special Collections Research Center Staff. John Fleming Gould Papers [internet]. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/g/gould_jf.htm
5. Chomko, M. John Fleming Gould, Pulp Illustrator [internet]. Pulp Fest; 2018 Jun 6 [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.pulpfest.com/2018/06/john-fleming-gould-pulp-illustrator/
6. Denton, L. Artist’s illustrations for General Electric made students armchair space travelers [internet]. Chattanooga, TN: Chattanooga Times Free Press; 2019 Jul 19 [cited 2020 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2019/jul/19/artists-illustrations-ge-made-students-armcha/499102/