Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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A topical newspaper illustration (presumably for the Hearst Newspapers) confronting the dilemma of Eugenics. In the 1910’s-1920’s the United States was faced with the question of whether individuals should marry with a mind towards creating superior babies through genetic family planning. This cartoon finds this notion farfetched and we see love conquering science to the shock and delight of a couple now free to live as their hearts command. A very sophisticated topical take on a pre-eminent question of the early 20th century. This is a fantastically rendered en grisaille style pen and ink drawing with highlights. En grisaille was a popular style in the early 20th century for illustrations created for reprinting. In a stylish contemporary fine gilded wood frame.

Satirical Eugenics Illustration

Artist: Gustav Michelson

A dazzling and evocative gouache illustration painting for a 1972 edition of Hans Cristian Andersen’s classic tale “The Little Mermaid”. A shining deftly rendered example in the manner of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac. Work is matted and framed and signed by the artist lower left and titled in the margin lower right.

The Little Mermaid

Artist: Harold Thompson

A captivating, sexy, toasting blonde pastel by noted illustrator and occasional pin-up artist Victor Tchetchet. This pin-up is unusual as it mimics the Coles Phillip’s “Fadeaway Girls” technique where the subject fades into the background. Tchetchet is best known for his pin-up, The Favorite Model, and countless movie magazine covers throughout the 1930’s. I have never come across the published version of this pastel, presumably it was done as a pin-up calendar illustration. Beautifully double matted in a $700 gallery frame.

The Toast Of The Town

Artist: Victor Tchetchet

A deftly rendered luminous pastel portrait of silent and early talkie legendary Hollywood film star Greta Garbo, created as the cover for the November 1935 issue of Screenland magazine. The artist captures the glamorous side of Garbo as styled from a publicity shoot promoting her starring turn in the M-G-M  adaptation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. […]

Greta Garbo

Artist: Charles Sheldon

      This is a beautiful, unique, and rare preliminary graphite drawing by Gil Elvgren for the completed Brown & Bigelow calendar artwork titled “Let’s Go Around Together.” This loose, fluid sketch shows a classic Elvgren pin-up flashing her shapely gams from her perch astride a carousel horse. Gil Elvgren took, on average, one […]

Let’s Go Around Together Preliminary Sketch

Artist: Gil Elvgren

      This is a beautiful, unique, and rare preliminary graphite drawing by Gil Elvgren for the completed Brown & Bigelow calendar artwork titled “Modern Venus.” This loose, fluid sketch shows a classic Elvgren nude pin-up girl seated in a draped studio setting surrounded by flowers and holding draped fabrics and ribbons. Gil Elvgren […]

Modern Venus Preliminary Sketch

Artist: Gil Elvgren

      This is a beautiful, unique, and rare preliminary graphite drawing by Gil Elvgren that shows the behind-the-scenes process that the artist went through while coming up with and subsequently presenting ideas to Brown & Bigelow for potential calendar artwork. This includes Elvgren’s handwritten notations in the bottom right of the drawing to […]

Brown & Bigelow Preliminary Sketch

Artist: Gil Elvgren

    This original fine art figure study by the pre-eminent pin-up illustrator comes from a collection of Gil Elvgren preliminary graphite drawings that we acquired which were found in a house in Sarasota, Florida where the artist once lived. With restraint and a detailed eye towards anatomy, the artist captures a brunette with a contemplative pose, […]

Nude Figure Study Sketch

Artist: Gil Elvgren

  With cool blue undertones and moody, dramatic shadowing, this published oil on canvas interior illustration is a departure for artist Benton Henderson Clark who primarily created warm & vibrant narrative frontier and western scenes. Accompanying an interior story for Cosmopolitan magazine titled “The King’s Son”, a handsome and sharply dressed prince smokes a cigarette during […]

The King’s Son

Artist: Benton Henderson Clark

 

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