Born in 1911, Graves Gladney grew up in Missouri. Upon gratuating high school he was accepted into Amherst. Graduating as a member of the class of 1928, he furthered his studies in art at the Slade school in London. He returned to the United States about 1934 settling in St Louis. Realising that New York City was the place to be to capitalize on his talent, he picked up and moved his family there selling his first commercial work, a lively polo scene, to Fortune Magazine in late 1935.
He quickly found work illustrating the covers of the pulp magazines. It is said that Gladney produced an amazing 275 covers over his pulp career -- an impressive portfolio with titles like Adventure, Crime Busters, Mystery, Dime Mystery, and several Clues Detectives in early 1939. Like H.W. Scott, Gladney also worked on John W. Campbell's sort-lived fantasy magazine Unknown in 1939 during which time he produced just three of the dozen covers that graced the meteoric magazine
In 1936 his father formed the 7 Up Company in St. Louis to market a locally popular lemon-lime soft drink. When he died in 1961, Graves inherited a sizable fortune. Graves Gladney spent his retirement years painting, hunting, and golfing. He died of a heart attack at age 68 during surgery at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis on Wednesday March 24, 1976.
The guy on the Clues cover looks just like Lloyd Bridges.
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