Bemelmans was primarily known for his “Madeline” series, which began in 1939. He was born in Austria and emigrated to New York in 1914 where he became an illustrator for The New Yorker, Vogue and Holiday magazines.He was also a painter and this work of “Coney Island” is born of his love for his adopted home. When the artist’s grandson saw the painting he immediately remarked about the frame as he knew it from many of Bemelmans works. Bemelmans used this same Coney Island inspiration for the July 3, 1948 New Yorker cover.