Above: Detail

Above: The artists signature

Above: Detail

A dazzling art deco era original oil on canvas by noted New York illustrator Walter Beach Humphrey (1892-1966). Humphrey did 3 covers for The Saturday Evening Post in 1923. He was also a frequent cover contributor for Colliers, Liberty and Argosy magazines. He currently has works on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in their Toast of the Town exhibit. The model was the artist’s wife Connie Regina. I am assuming this was painted as a decorative work as I cannot imagine a cover it could have been used for with the possible exception of a Burlesque or Follies Bergere-type program cover. This is a major work and a defining moment, effortlessly demonstrating the jazz age, art deco modernist aesthetic and specifically the art deco nude and the allure of the flapper girl.

Above: Framed view in contemporary wood frame