Above: Irresistible

A large and early Zoe Mozert pastel, used as commissioned calendar art in the early 1930s. This illustration is remembered as one of Mozert’s most enduring and well realized images. Featuring a fabulous flapper girl with idealized Jean Harlow like features in a stylish art deco turban, this is a colorful commissioned artwork recently unearthed from a Florida estate.

Above: Framed view with published calendar print

Above: The artist’s early signature

This large pastel on board was given by Mozert to the sitter, who also later did modeling work for Revlon Cosmetics. It has Zoe Mozert’s early signature, which she soon after modified to a Rolf Armstrong inspired flowing script. The work comes with a period framed printed calendar published image of the pastel; the signature and every detail is identical.

Above: Vintage calendar print of pastel (included in sale)

Mozert also executed a nearly identical image, using her later signature, which ran in a series of Irresistible perfume and cosmetic advertisements in Movie and Women’s magazines in the 1930s. This pastel was likely created for the Irresistible campaign as well; the surface area to the right of the portrait is where text would have been inserted in a 2 page full color advertisement.

Above: Similar Mozert work as it appeared for Irresistible Perfume

Pastel is matted and framed behind glass and ready to hang.

The most famous female pin-up artist, Zoe Mozert (1907-1993) is an exemplary disciple of the Rolf Armstrong pastel style. Her real name was Alice Adelaide Moser and several of her early works have surfaced signed “Moser” she was one of a few female students of Howard Pyle. Often her own model, Mozert is noted for rejecting sexy-girl cliches in favor of depicting more real seeming young women, with recognizably individual features and personalities.

Her cover portraits of Hollywood starlets for such publications as “Romantic Movie Stories” and “Screen Book” were particularly popular, but she also contributed covers to such periodicals as “American Weekly” and “True Confessions”.

While the bulk of her work including such deliriously romantic nudes as “Moonglow” and “Sweet Dreams” was calendar-oriented (primarily for Brown & Bigelow), Mozert also made a mark as a movie poster artist, notably for Carole Lombard’s “True Confession”, and the notorious Jane Russell / Howard Hughes sex and sagebrush saga, “The Outlaw”. Even her less sultry sirens exude both charm and sex appeal.

Above: Detail