My Wild Irish Rose, a delicate beauty by Warde Traver
This is an enchanting oil on board painting by American artist and illustrator Charles Warde Traver. A sophisticated portrait with Art Deco stylings, this painting features a beautiful brunette flapper in a rusted orange tunic who coyly fingers the beads of her green necklace while smiling coquettishly to the viewer. Posed against a striking green background, this is a superb piece of illustration art.
This painting first saw publication on the February 1930 cover of Dream World magazine with a blue background instead of green. The green background image, as seen here in the painting, was published in 1933 for the American Art Works calendar company under the title “My Wild Irish Rose”. A print from American Art Works is included in the sale.
This painting has been signed by the artist in the lower half of the painting. In very good archived condition with nominal surface wear, soiling and craquelure, this painting is housed inside an ornate lovey American Arts & Crafts in aesthetic wild profile vintage wood frame with resplendent green and gold painted accents.
This illustration comes from the collection of esteemed illustration art collector Norman Platnick.
About the artist: Warde Traver
Charles Ward Traver was a painter born in Ann Arbor, MI on Oct. 10, 1870. After attending the University of Michigan, Traver opted for an art career. He studied at the Detroit School of Art and Art Institute of Chicago. While a resident of Los Angeles in 1894, he was employed as an illustrator for Land of Sunshine magazine. He also taught small painting classes in Pasadena.
While there, a wealthy art patron offered to fund his study in Germany. He then spent three years in Munich at the Royal Academy under Carl von Marr. In 1898 he returned to the U.S. and settled in New York City. He soon was in demand to illustrate covers for national magazines. In 1927 he had a studio in New York City, visited Los Angeles again in 1932, and in 1933-34 was in Chicago. He died in New York City on August 3, 1945.
The Legacy of Norman Platnick
In his New York Times obituary, Norman Platnick’s son Will said that his father had three passions in life, his wife Nancy, spiders, and collecting.
Few individuals have the chance to leave a mark like Norm’s in even one field, let alone two. But Norm managed to be both a celebrated scientist, and one of the most influential lay historians of illustration art.
Under his imprint Enchantment Ink, Norm researched, wrote, and published collectors guides to artists like Rolf Armstrong and Earl Christy. We at Grapefruit Moon Gallery rely on these books in our work, and they are now all freely available as PDFs through the Enchantment Ink website.
Norm’s expertise was a gift, his friendship was a treasure, and his legacy is immeasurable. He is missed.
