A just spectacular otherworldly sci-fi pulp illustration painting by Harold McCauley used as the cover for the December, 1954 edition of Imagination Stories of Science And Fantasy. Titled 21st Century Girl Walking Pet on the table of contents page in the included magazine, the artist used his wife Grace as the model, a source 8″ by 10″ original archived photo of her posed for this painting is included in the sale.

The image shows a modernist sci-fi pin-up “Mac Girl” talking her pet alien out for a stroll, with breezy whimsical style. This rare surviving original pulp cover painting retains an exhibit label from an Orlando Florida Art Association show organized by Martin Defense Contractors where the artist worked in the 1960s and 70s. McCauley loved working for the Greenleaf Publishing Company, and was a frequent illustrator for Imagination-Stories of Science Fiction and their sister title, Imaginative Tales. The artist seemed to always tried to outdo himself with the high-spirited works he created for this publishing house, which he nicknamed “Madge”, we can see his immense commercial talent and artistic whimsy on display in this sparkling and clever cover rendering. Nicely framed in a handsome Larson-Juhl gallery frame and ready to hang.