Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
Along with developments in lithography that led many leading talents of the day into careers as illustrators, the 20th century saw innovations in photography, printmaking, and design that revolutionized fine, public, and decorative art. Below, you will see showcased original artworks from the Art Nouveau, American Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, WPA-era and beyond.
Spear did a series called “Sea Weeds” with haunting images of art nouveau mermaids and other sea dwellers. This is an original pastel on sandboard from this series. The mystical beauty of this underwater nymph lies in the simplicity of his rendering. It is housed in a beautiful original vintage art nouveau frame with corner detailing.
Artist: Arthur Prince Spear
This is a touching, inscribed presentation drawing from Zeigfeld Follies illustrator, Henry Clive, to Alfred Cheney Johnston, the legendary long time Follies photographer. Johnston was a leading 1920’s movie and performist portrait photographer. I have several vintage 1920’s examples of his photography currently listed in the Photographs and Prints category on this site.
Artist: Henry Clive
A haunting original oil painting inspired by The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam by noted illustrator and fine artist, Charles Allan Winter. Included with this painting, is a delightful February 1923 issue of Shadowland Magazine-Expressing the Arts. This artist’s work is featured in a full page color plate on page 9 of this publication.
Artist: Charles Winter
