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Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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Naomi Johnson Ziegfeld Follies Portrait

Artist:J. Knowles Hare
Date:1920s
Medium:Pastel on Illustration Board
Dimensions:Sight Size 12" x 16" Framed 21 1/2" x 26 1/2"
Condition:Excellent
Original Use:Ziegfeld Follies Promotional Material
Full view of the pastel of Follies beauty Naomi Johnson
Full view of the pastel of Follies beauty Naomi Johnson
Large format Alfred Cheney Johnston photograph
Large format Alfred Cheney Johnston photograph
The artist's signature lower right
The artist’s signature lower right
Detail of John Knowles Hare pastel
Detail of John Knowles Hare pastel
Detail of Alfred Cheney Johnston photograph
Detail of Alfred Cheney Johnston photograph

From the estate of legendary Ziegfeld Follies photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston comes this portrait of Follies showgirl Naomi Johnston. Noted illustrator J. Knowles Hare was commissioned by impresario Flo Ziegfeld to create pastel illustrations of Ziegfeld’s glorified American girls as they were captured by photographer A.C. Johnston, for a variety of display and publicity uses. The finished pastel shows a soft and romantic, risqué yet demure Naomi Johnson and comes in a handsome silver gallery frame behind glass with original french matting.

Naomi Johnson was one of the most popular Ziegfeld girls of the jazz age, performing in the Follies and associated musical comedies from 1922 until her retirement in 1930. She was considered to be Alfred Cheney Johnston’s favorite model, and began posing nude for him in her uninhibited teenage years. Her statuesque draped nude photographs are among Johnston’s most famous images.

Framed and matted behind glass view of pastel
Framed and matted behind glass view of pastel
Frame profile and original french matting on Hare pastel
Frame profile and original french matting on Hare pastel

Jo. Knowles Hare 1909 – 1978
Was an American Illustrator and coastal New England Painter of portraits, landscapes and marine scenes. Considered the Dean of Cape Cod artists Hare was masterful in both oil and watercolor painting. He was also a very prolific cover artist and illustrator, creating glamour girl prints for many of the leading calendar companies, usually in pastel, but also in pencils and oils. He did covers for Woman’s Home Companion, American Magazine, This Week, The Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, Ladies’ Home Journal, Photoplay, Modern Priscilla and Harper’s Weekly. The artist’s association with the photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston was previously undocumented.

Naomi Johnson Ziegfeld Follies Portrait

Artist: J. Knowles Hare

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1920s, Alfred Cheney Johnston, american, art nouveau, flapper, gelatin silver photograph, J. Knowles Hare, maiden, Naomi Johnson, portrait, Ziegfeld Follies
Added to Gallery: April 27, 2016

 

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