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Above: Full view of oil on canvas |
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Above: The work as it appeared in a 1942 photograph at The Jade Lounge |
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Above: Detail |
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Above: Vintage matchbook cover from The Jade Lounge (included in sale) |
This exceptionally large oil on canvas mural by Henry Clive was created for the long gone legendary Hollywood Boulevard haunt “The Jade Lounge.” Titled “The Buddha-Pest,” the image acted as a logo for the bar, with matchbooks and post cards created with its likeness to attract tourists. The Jade Lounge became a destination and this monumental painting remained a focal point of the restaurant for decades. Henry Clive executed several murals for Hollywood nightclubs, and for The Masquers Club, Hollywood’s oldest theatrical club. Two surviving examples from Masquers are on permanent display in the Hollywood Entertainment Museum and The Education Center for the Entertainment Arts.
Henry Clive was born in Australia in 1881, he made his way to American doing slight of hand magic work and working the Vaudeville Circuit. A handsome man, he became a minor movie star and had small parts in several silent era movies in Hollywood in the early 1900’s. A self taught artist, Clive worked for Flo Ziegfeld and the Ziegfeld Follies and began creating poster images for Paramount pictures in 1921, most memorably, portraits of Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford and Marion Davies. Through his association with Davies, the artist became acquainted with Randolph Hearst and became a cover artist for Hearst publication “American Weekly Magazine” for three decades.
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Above: The artist’s signature and date 1939 |
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Above: Pin up girl & Buddha entanglement |
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Above: Another view of large mural sized work |
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Above: detail |
Clive also created several excellent calendar images for The Louis F. Dow Calendar Company and Joseph Hoover & Sons. While prolific, his original works are extremely scarce, this artwork was recently unearthed in Reno Nevada where it had been in storage for decades. It is monumental in size and scope and an important historical artifact showcasing the allure of Golden Age Hollywood and art deco, post-prohibition Tinsel Town. We are ecstatic to be able to offer this.
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Above: Verso view |
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Above: Artist’s instructions on verso “Please Don’t Polish” |