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 cheerful and romantic seasonal Holiday themed gouache illustration by the prolific and well regarded Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame inductee artist Joe Bowler for an interior story titled “The Christmas House.” This appeared in the December, 1958 edition of The Ladies Home Journal. A fabulous time capsule with a colorful mid-century modern […]
Artist: Joe Bowler
A beautiful oil on canvas portrait painting by the noted female American Golden Age illustrator Edna Crompton. This was exhibited in the 1920s at Beard Art Galleries in Minneapolis as part of their one woman show “Girls of America”. Crompton was a prolific cover illustrator for American mainstream publications including The Saturday Evening Post and Redbook magazine, […]
Artist: Edna Crompton
A superlative large format oil painting by the well regarded prolific American Golden Age of Illustration artist Edward Eggleston that appeared in 1933 as a calendar print with the title Hearts Unmasked, and was widely distributed at the same time as a puzzle with the title The Proposal. A romantic fantasy […]
Artist: Edward Eggleston
The prolific early Golden Age of Illustration artist Archie Gunn created this whimsical boldly art deco painting for publication. Commissioned as calendar art for a series titled Dancing Girls, in this version a Follies Girl is costumed as a jazz-age French Pierrot clown. A complete vintage salesman’s sample folio of Dancing Girls that includes Gunn’s published image is included in the sale. Gunn […]
Artist: Archie Gunn
Evoking Little Red Riding Hood with an ominous mood and maiden in brightly colored cape, this art nouveau winter-scape shows a determined maiden walking through a snow covered forest, a masterful example from belle époque artist extraordinaire Louis Rhead. Though Rhead, like many of the popular illustrators of the period, did illustrate a version of the […]
Artist: Louis Rhead
A two paneled signed pen & ink illustration drawing by Nell Brinkley published as an interior illustration in a 1931 edition of Life magazine. On the left the biblical Eve is seen in the Garden of Eden, in harmony with nature and god’s living creatures before her fall into temptation. The right image shows Jill, a […]
Artist: Nell Brinkley
This majestic and otherworldly oil-on-board by the New York illustrator A.D. Rahn is a reflection on the decadence of the Broadway stage circa 1915. A beautiful and haughty blonde, whose bobbed hair and dropped waist gown evoke Irene Castle, is seen emerging from backstage with the help of a green imp, her own high […]
Artist: A.D. Rahn
A large format redheaded pin up girl cover painting by the well listed female artist Ellen (E.B.) Segner, used as the cover for The Toronto Star Weekly, July 22, 1950. The artist was a prolific calendar artist who worked for the Louis F. Dow and Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Companies during the 1930s – 40s. […]
Artist: Ellen Segner
A bustling signed and dated 1925 original advertising gouache painting by noted Golden Age illustrator Henry Patrick Raleigh for Maxwell House Coffee. An opulent high society Great Gatbsy-esque scene which creates focal points around the coffee cups and serving platters in the hands of tony patrons and servers. Raleigh worked on Maxwell House’s print campaign […]
Artist: Henry Raleigh
A large classic Americana c. 1950 oil painting on canvas created for Atlantic Petroleum by Hayden Hayden. This was likely created as a billboard advertising design. In this all-American apple pie depiction, a clean cut high school football star has attracted the interest of a pretty co-ed after being “Fixed Up For The […]
Artist: Hayden Hayden
