Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
Rainbow Jewel Flowers This is a fun, c. 1950, unpublished pastel illustration by the Father of American Pin-Up, Rolf Armstrong. This well-rendered whimsical sketch features the artist’s muse and lifelong friend Jewel Flowers in an ethereal gown bursting with a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors. Armstrong created this pastel for Flowers as a gift and it […]
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
Earlier this year, the Society of Illustrators inducted American illustrator and pin-up artist Rolf Armstrong into their Illustrator’s Hall of Fame. Since 1958, the Society of Illustrators has elected to its Hall of Fame artists recognized for their distinguished achievement in the art of illustration. Artists are elected by former presidents of the Society and […]
From the son of a small town tugboat captain to the Father of American Pin-Up Art, Rolf Armstrong led a full life and had a long and prolific career. In 1919, Armstrong aligned himself with Brown & Bigelow where he painted countless images for advertising calendar art.
An unpublished original pastel by Rolf Armstrong of model Dea Jamel Smith, a pretty young dancer from Julliard who Armstrong worked with extensively during the 1920’s and early 30s as she had the face and physique of the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz-age. This work was never published, we acquired it from the model’s descendants. Armstrong really excelled at these pastel close-up portraits, this is a lovely and fresh to the market example that captures the allure of the flapper girl effortlessly with a blue eyed flirty smile.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
An early cover pastel by Rolf Armstrong that served as the cover for The January 1916 issue of “American Magazine” featuring a lovely portrait of artist’s model Betty Lester. While Armstrong is best known today as “The Father of America Pin-up”, he created hundreds of covers for American magazines with titles as diverse as Photoplay, College Humor, The Saturday Evening Post and American Magazine.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
For Sale: signed and inscribed pastel by Rolf Armstrong showcasing Jewel Flowers, his most iconic model, muse, closest friend and confidant.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
On offer is the final original preliminary pastel by Rolf Armstrong for his late 1950s Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company calendar “Delightful”.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
Early Rolf Armstrong artwork, created as 1919 sheet music cover. Provenance includes the collection of Kenneth Anger, author of Hollywood Babylon.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
This alluring jazz age portrait of Evelyn Brent by Rolf Armstrong of silent film star Evelyn Brent was commissioned as original artwork for the cover of the March 1930 issue of Screenland Magazine. Armstrong executed a series of covers for this title between 1929 – 1930; he once remarked that Brent had the most perfect face he had ever portrayed. Pastel is matted and framed behind glass and in a fine state of original conservation.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
This refined pastel portrait of film legend Mary Astor by the American illustrator Rolf Armstrong dates to 1933, during the artist’s brief tenure as a Hollywood portraitist. The elegant and understated large format artwork reflects Armstrong’s desire to move away from the rigid demands and deadline driven style of his in demand career as America’s leading calendar artist. In 1931, Armstrong moved from New York to the West coast and started an independent fine art company “Armstrong Art Services.”
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
