Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
At the turn of the 20th century, Industrial Revolution inventions brought technological advancements to printmaking that ushered in a Golden Age of American illustration. Publishers and calendar companies developed new techniques for producing multi-color offset lithographs that were fast, affordable, and flat-out glorious to view, blurring the distinction between fine art and "art for commerce." The best examples by the finest commercial illustrators were revered by the public, and today are beloved by collectors.
A delightful pen & ink drawing of a flirty coquettish lass who goes by the name of “The Tango Girl”. In all ways this appears to be an artwork by Nell Brinkley though it is inscribed “Mae Howers”, not sure if this perhaps was the model? The image, style, handwriting and era all point to this being the work of Nell Brinkley.
Artist: After Nell Brinkley
A rugged and gritty WWII – era illustration by the prolific American artist E.F. Ward, which was created as part of the advertising campaign for Seiberling Rubber Company. Published as the central image for a magazine interior advertisement that appeared in numerous wartime periodicals, Safe Passage is a large format well-realized gouache on illustration board painting which […]
Artist: E.F. Ward
Futuristic, detailed, and very precise, this science-fiction inspired imagination of cosmos exploration was created in 1963 as the cover of the British magazine Understanding Science #71, a Sampson Low Publication. Geared to the high school audience, and part of the ongoing space race effort to get youths interested in science during the Cold War, the image dramatizes astronomy by […]
Artist: Unknown British Illustrator
Tom Lovell created this colorful and expertly rendered painting to illustrate “Son of The Coach” an interior story for the October 14, 1950 issue of Collier’s Magazine. A copy of the magazine is included in the sale. The scene captures a brunette co-ed turning away in sadness from the ongoing marching band celebration in the background, as the son of […]
Artist: Tom Lovell
An original gouache cover painting for an unidentified issue of the notorious French publication “La Vie Parisienne”. The long running, humorous and racy magazine chronicled the exploits and sexual proclivities of sassy and free spirited French follies showgirls and their often dim witted suitors in risque, breezy, spicy pulp-like fashion. This original gouache painting is nicely double matted in an oval window in a fine antique ornate gesso gold frame behind glass.
Artist: Maurice Milliere
A wonderful and rare surviving original watercolor and graphite illustration by the legendary Art Nouveau artist Raphael Kirchner. The image shows a sexually provocative “Kirchner Girl” in rolled silk stockings, seductively grilling the many hearts she has stolen. This appeared in print in La Vie Parisienne with the German language quip “Können Diese Herzen Warm Genug Sein?”, which translates loosely to “Are […]
Artist: Raphael Kirchner
This technically dazzling painting by the French-American artist, muralist, and illustrator Andre Durenceau shows a colorful art deco landscape conceived in the manner of Rockwell Kent, with a lake in the foreground and an oversized flying fish adding the surreal touch for which the artist was known to the scene. This gouache on canvas is signed lower right and […]
Artist: Andre Durenceau
This remarkable art deco Orientalist scene by the American illustrator and cartoonist Frank Godwin, depicts the interior story “Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves”, from the 1920 children’s book Stories The Sandman Told, a complete copy of which is included in the sale. Pictured in this gouache on board painting, is Morgiana, a slave girl who is pouring […]
Artist: Frank Godwin
This trio of images by Thornton Utz was created to illustrate a single story in the flagship Curtis Publishing magazine The Saturday Evening Post. With a bold mid-century modern aesthetic and the dry brush gouache technique popular in glossy magazines in the 1950s, the set presents an enticing take on American femininity as idealized during the Cold […]
Artist: Thornton Utz
In this moody yet nostalgic casein-on-board illustration painting, the artist John Berkey, best remembered today as one of the leading figures of the golden era of science fiction, shows his versatility. Most identified with his posters for the original Star Wars film, Berkey was a technically brilliant commercial illustrator and his vision is what we see in our […]
Artist: John Berkey
