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| The Aurora |
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| Artist: | Henry Clive |
| Date: | 1937 |
| Medium: | Pastel on Illustration Board |
| Dimensions: | Sight size 17" X 20 1/2" Framed 31" X 35 1/3" |
| Condition: | Excellent |
| Original Use: | Cover for The American Weekly; February 14, 1937 |
| Price: | $17,500.00 -- SALE -- $15,000.00 |
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| Above: The Aurora full view of pastel |
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| Above: The artist's signature lower left |
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| Above: Scan of printed cover, The American Weekly, February 14 1937 " The Aurora" |
Grapefruit Moon Gallery is honored to offer this rare and exceptional original pastel illustration which Henry Clive created for the cover of the Valentines Day edition (February 13, 1937) of "The American Weekly." Part of Clive's "Vision of an Artist" series of covers for this Randolph Hearst publication, these Visions illustrated forces of nature such as the tornado and (in this case) Aurora Borealis as mythical images of femininity. The concept of women as natural phenomenon and even natural disasters is something Clive took a personal interest in, as his 6 failed marriages will attest.
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| Above: Properly matted and lined behind glass in beautiful high end gallery frame |
This enchanting and inventive depiction titled "The Aurora" features favorite Clive model and Randolph Hearst mistress Marion Davies as the goddess of the northern lights, radiating over a polar ice cap.
This was originally discovered in McCloud, California; a town where Randolph Hearst owned land and a house at the foot of Mt. Shasta. Clive gave the work to Marion Davies, the model, and she gave it to the family of a young girl she had befriended. It has never before been on the market. Although Clive was a gifted and prolific artist with a long and varied illustrious career, his original artwork is scarcely seen and we are thrilled to have acquired this shining example.
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| Above: Detail |
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| Above: Frame detail |
Pastel is properly lined and in a very good state of original preservation with artist's notations and original title of "Aurora Borealis" in the lower margins. Framed in a beautiful and expensive art deco aesthetic new gallery frame behind u.v. glass.
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| Above: American Weekly Publication sticker in margin |
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| Above: Notations |
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| Above: Notations |
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| Above: Verso notations text |
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