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 […]
Gallery Blog
News and features from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
Jewel Flowers; a diminutive gem of an artist’s model who was muse to Rolf Armstrong for half his career, and whose popularity at times threatened to surpass his. Armstrong began the 1940s known for vampy flappers and radiant pin-ups with art deco sophistication, a style that was waning in popularity at the time. His meeting with Flowers, an unknown […]
The moment when Rita Hayworth pops onscreen for the first time in Gilda ranks among the most iconic film introductions of the 20th century. Her gravity defying hair flip and blinding smile seemed to epitomize mischievous flirtation, and through the extensive publicity campaign surrounding the film and a series of now legendary glamour photos by Robert […]
Public art in the 1930s is today synonymous with the Works Progress Administration–a New Deal Federal program that underwrote regionalist and modernist fine artists by commissioning their work for murals that can still be seen throughout the United States. Less often remembered is how private industries during the Great Depression and World War II became patrons of the […]
It’s easy to see how much talent and passion artists working in America’s Golden Age of Illustration brought to their jobs, but we rarely have windows into the daily commitment to submitting work for consideration, and the accompanying rejection that was part of the illustrator life. For all but a few famous names like Maxfield Parrish and Norman […]
Earle K. Bergey’s spicy pulp covers are known for their provocative, even lawless sensuality. It’s the root of their wild, jazz age, hedonistic charm. Even eighty years later, Bergey’s art looks daring, modern, and cool. Since more than 90% of original pulp cover artwork is thought to be lost, we were over the moon to come across two fresh-to-the-market original […]
“My art, which is my life, is the only language through which I speak with the world.” -Erté Through his work, Erté has become synonymous with timeless decadence and a bold avant garde modernist aesthetic. His creation embody, and for many people define Art Deco. Today, though, most people are familiar with his work only through photographs, fine […]
Here at Grapefruit Moon Gallery, we are always tickled when illustration art shows up on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, the 12-time Emmy nominated standard-bearer that paved the way for Pawn Stars, Storage Locker Wars, and a host of others shows that have gotten Americans searching their attics for dusty treasures. As loyal viewers, we were among the nearly eight […]
Nothing says “I’ve arrived” about a genre of art than its appearance on the walls of museums and galleries, and though it could be argued that illustration art is fashionably late to the party, its arrival is making a splash. Since the founding of Grapefruit Moon Gallery in 2003, we’ve seen a handful of touring exhibits […]
The bustling post-war world of New York City – the exciting art scene, the sometimes grimy underbelly of street life, and even the everyday, seemingly mundane, daily activities of its residents – were what drew photojournalist and painter Alfred Statler back to his home city after an extended trip abroad to refine his artistic skills. […]
