Cleo Damianakes

Cleo Damianakes
Damianakes in 1917
Born
Cleo Theodora Damianakes

(1895-03-01)March 1, 1895
Berkeley, California, US
DiedAugust 27, 1979(1979-08-27) (aged 84)
Alameda, California, US
Other namesCleon, Cleonike, Cleo Wilkins
Education
Occupation(s)Illustrator and etcher
Known forBook dust jackets
Spouse
Ralph Brooks Wilkins
​
​
(m. 1924)​

Cleo Theodora Damianakes (March 1, 1895 – August 27, 1979), nom de plume Cleon or Cleonike, was an American etcher, painter, and illustrator. She was widely known for designing dust jackets for Lost Generation writers in the 1920s and early 1930s, including cover art for the first editions of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men, which were published by Scribners. Other authors she designed covers for included novelists such as Zelda Fitzgerald, Conrad Aiken, John Galsworthy, and Arthur B. Reeve.

A Greek American, Damianakes was critically acclaimed for the classical Greek influence in her etchings,[1][2] and was a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers, which awarded her a medal in 1922.[3][4] Her work is now part of the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and others. Married to fellow artist and book jacket designer Ralph Brooks Wilkins, she was known later in life as Cleo Wilkins.

  1. ^ "Etchings Exhibition by Modern Masters Open Until Thursday". The Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram. Richmond, Indiana. October 29, 1921. p. 8. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Damianakes, Clio [sic]". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00046217.