A whimsical and stylized rare original gouache painting on illustration board by Anne Harriet Fish (sometimes referred to as Anne Sefton Fish after her marriage to Walter Sefton); this was the cover for the April 1919 edition of Vanity Fair magazine published by Conde Nast. Work is in the humorous yet refined swinging youth style that came to personify the Art Deco jazz age. Painting is silk matted and beautifully framed in period antique gold gilt wood frame under glass.
Anne Harriet Fish was a prolific and gifted painter that shared a like minded spirit and sense of humor with contemporary cover illustrator and American artist John Held Jr. Both artist’s playfully poked fun at the modernist entanglements and pratfalls that the Roaring 20s bestowed upon its self centered yet life loving participants. Fish was able to capture the era in a uniquely modern and playfully stylish manner. This work has all of her elements at play; a colorful gondola ride that was the cover for the April 1919 Vanity Fair by the prestigious Conde Nast publications.
 |
| Above: Verso view before framing |
 |
| Above: Verso Notation “April 1919 Cover Vanity Fair” |
 |
| Above: Verso illustration board text |
Anne Harriet Fish (Sefton) was born in Bristol, England. She worked in oil, watercolor and gouache and was an illustrator who was active in London, Sussex and St. Ives, Cornwall. She married Walter Sefton in 1918. In New York City, she did illustrations for “Vanity Fair” and “Vogue” including this cover for “Vanity Fair” in April, 1919.
Cast iron figural flapper girl doorstops bearing the artists cartoonish flapper girl creations were also produced and sold during the 1920s.
