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Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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Illustration & Advertising Art

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.

An allegorical angelic scene by noted American fine artist, muralist, and illustrator Charles Allen Winter titled “Liberty Unchained.” Our research leads us to believe this was an interior magazine illustration for Cosmopolitan, which ran a series of spiritually relevant writings by Roycroft founder and early twentieth century philosopher Elbert Hubbard under the title “Little Sermons”–all illustrated by Winter. Several of Winter’s “Sermons” paintings were then reproduced in Hubbard’s own publication “The Fra.” From the estate of Charles Martignette, the sadly departed author of the “The Great American Pin-Up.”

Liberty Unchained

Artist: Charles Winter

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1910s, allegorical, angel, arts & crafts, Charles Martignette, Charles Winter, christian, Elbert Hubbard, illustration, muralist, original interior illustration, Roycroft, spiritual, The Fra
Added to Gallery: September 21, 2013

A large original watercolor illustration by the prolific important American illustrator C. C. Beall. A dramatic scene of unknown usage of a fight on deck a sailing ship on the high seas.

Battle on the High Seas

Artist: C. C. Beall

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art
Tagged With: 1940s, american, C. C. Beall, Collier's, navy, original illustration art, ship, WWII
Added to Gallery: July 29, 2013

    A sensational original signed and dated 1912 painting by Edmund Dulac published as the fourth plate in the Hodder & Stougton edition of The Bells and Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe. A master of early 20th century illustrations, Dulac is known for his mysterious and compelling depictions of fairytales and imagined lands. Pictured […]

Annabel Lee

Artist: Edmund Dulac

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1910s, Annabel Lee, art nouveau, Edgar Allen Poe, Edmund Dulac, fantasy, french, illustration, maiden, original interior illustration, pre-raphaelite, The Golden Gallery
Added to Gallery: July 16, 2013

A lyrical Golden Age of Illustration dated 1921 oil on canvas painting by Edwin John Prittie for The Mary Frances Story Book – a children’s book by Jane Eayre Fryer published by John C. Winston. In this whimsical lush rendering a child with a fishing net joists with a red dragon in a fantasy-scape surround […]

“Wow,” Shrieked The Dragon

Artist: Edwin John Prittie

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1920s, american, children's book art, dragon, Edwin John Prittie, fantasy, Mary Frances Story Book, original illustration art, original interior illustration, spiritual
Added to Gallery: July 15, 2013

A dazzling Hollywood glamour pastel portrait of the always radiant Carole Lombard by Zoe Mozert used as the cover for the April 1936 edition of Screen Book Magazine. This published cover illustration is signed lower right and matted behind glass in its original limed wood and black enamel painted art deco moderne frame. Really a […]

Carole Lombard for Screen Book Magazine

Artist: Zoe Mozert

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1930s, american, art deco, Carole Lombard, glamour, hollywood, magazine cover, original cover art, pin up, portrait, Screen Book Magazine, The Golden Gallery, Zoe Mozert
Added to Gallery: July 14, 2013

A large  c. 1936 signed pastel portrait by Zoe Mozert of the Hollywood film star Loretta Young from about the time of her starring turn in Ramona. Zoe Mozert was a much in demand Hollywood film magazine cover artist during the pre-code years of Hollywood tinsel town glamour. She later settled into a long and […]

Portrait of Loretta Young

Artist: Zoe Mozert

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1930s, american, art deco, flapper, glamour, hollywood, Loretta Young, magazine cover, original cover art, portrait, pre-code, Zoe Mozert
Added to Gallery: July 12, 2013

  This dark and cleverly conceived and technically brilliant tinted pen & ink drawing with gouache highlights exemplifies the German expressionist artist Heinrich Kley’s brooding and satirical vision of mankind. At first take, we see a bear, ogre, and frog cavorting in a circus-like atmosphere, but on further reflection the scene turns darker. Kley’s pessimism […]

Bizarre Idea

Artist: Heinrich Kley

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1910s, 1920s, art nouveau, fantasy, german, german expressionism, grotesque, Heinrich Kley, Jugendstil, nude, spiritual, vienna secessionist
Added to Gallery: July 10, 2013

A delicately rendered, romanticized art nouveau maiden posed with a cornucopia filled with a plentiful summer’s harvest. This original watercolor illustration painting was created by the New York illustrator, muralist and fine artist Will Hicok Low for the August 1899 cover of McClure’s Magazine – Midsummer Fiction Number. A copy of the magazine is included in the sale and the painting is handsomely framed and matted behind glass and ready to enjoy.

The McClure’s Maiden

Artist: Will Hicok Low

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1890s, american, art nouveau, harvest, maiden, McClure's Magazine, new york city, romantic, Will Hicok Low
Added to Gallery: April 22, 2013

This oil on canvas is a fabulous and fresh to the market cover painting by the prolific American artist E.M. Jackson created for the November, 1930 issue of The Ladies Home Journal. A smartly posed flapper and rich autumn color palette mark this impressive depiction of a homecoming scene that captures the jazz age freedom of the college set.

The College Homecoming

Artist: E. M. Jackson

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1930s, american, automobilia, autumn, E. M. Jackson, flapper, jazz age, Ladies Home Journal, magazine cover, original cover art
Added to Gallery: February 14, 2013

This original cover painting by noted Russian American illustrator Constantin Alajalov was created for the March 21, 1936 edition of The New Yorker magazine. In the scene, what remains of a crowd of concert goers (most seem to have already taken to the exits) respond in typically divergent ways to a hunched over “lost in the moment” concert pianist who has turned away from the immortal sounds of Johann Bach to offer likely more personal yet less successful selections. Alajalov created over 70 covers in his iconic style for this Conde-Nast publication and also contributed cover art for The Saturday Evening Post.

New Yorker Cover

Artist: Constantin Alajalov

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1930s, american, art deco, Constantin Alajalov, magazine cover, musical, new york city, New Yorker, original cover art, russian, satirical
Added to Gallery: January 12, 2013

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