Song of the Nile

An exceedingly scarce original Art Deco Egyptian-themed mixed media calendar illustration by L. Goddard titled Song of the Nile, used as a Great Depression era published calendar by The American Art Works Calendar Company, Coshocton Ohio in 1931. Conceived in a now iconic fantasy manner with two ornately costumed harem girl exotic maidens holding court and expressing their artistic inclinations at a colorful mountainside veranda. A 1933 published advertising calendar for Goodrich Tires of the work is included in the sale.

"L. Goddard" was the pseudonym for a pair of enterprising commercial artists: L.G. Woolfenden, a successful Detroit area commercial photographer, and Rudolphe/ Rudolph Ingerle a Vienna born fine art landscape artist who exhibited to great fanfare, at museums and galleries in Chicago in the early 20th century.

Their collaborative efforts resulted in some of the finest and most spectacular images of the Calendar genre. The pair was known for fantasy-laden, Depression-era escapist themes: exotic Indian Maidens, Gypsies, Harem Girls, Art Deco Egyptian Beauties and Grecian maidens conceived in vivid land of make believe dream-scapes.

The process of the creation of these works was ingenious:

Woolfenden would photograph models in studio settings and these photos would be sized, cut and applied to a canvas. Then Ingerle would create a scene around the figures using oil paints, adding colored details to the photographic element of the works to blend the mediums into a seamless and believable reproducable canvas. Here is a behind the scenes look at a couple of original studio photographs and their completed calendars as printed by Thomas D. Murphy.

Above: Posed photograph of model by Woolfenden

Above: Finished L Goddard print from Thomas D Murphy

Above: Posed studio photograph used by Ingerle to create painted scene

Above: Finished Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Company L.Goddard Sample

Above: Largely ignored calendar company requests on verso of photograph for Ingerle

Original works by this team are exceedingly scarce. The Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Company destroyed most of the paintings they based their prints off of to prevent images being stolen and then reused by rival calendar companies.

Above: Notation on verso of archived Thos D. Murphy photograph noting that original painting of work was destroyed

Above: Verso notations and print instructions