Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
Publishers of depression-era pulp magazines, post war men’s adventure and girlie magazines, and lurid paperback titles all used risqué, action-packed illustrations to make their offerings jump off the newsstands in the highly competitive market for readers attention. Cover art pushed the boundaries of what was allowable in a heavily-censored era, coming up with increasingly deviant and outlandish portrayals of sex, violence, and perilous escapes from danger. Today, these works—which provide an intriguing peek into the shadow side of 20th century American culture—are studied by historians and coveted by collectors.
A kinetic, pop culture, post-war pulp painting by Mort Kunstler painted in 1964 and published as a cover in March of 1967 “For Men Only”. A fear mongering and chaotic depiction loosely illustrating the story “Belly Dancer Raid to Spring Russia’s Top Rocket Man.” Painting is very nicely framed and ready to hang.
Artist: Mort Künstler
This unusual example of a science fiction themed menace pulp illustration by the talented artist Lawrence Sterne Stevens was created as cover art for the July 1948 issue of Fantastic Novels. Renowned for his grotesque imaginative horror art, and often compared to contemporary Virgil Finlay, Stevens was named after his father–a deeply religious preacher–and signed […]
Artist: Lawrence Sterne Stevens
A lurid and prototypically noir paperback cover painting by the prolific American artist and illustrator Victor Olson, for the 1965 Midwood Book title Down And Out. Written by Les Masters – a well proportioned young housewife gets herself in financial hot water unbeknownst to her husband, she has to sell her valor to this snarky […]
Artist: Victor Olson
A lustful, original cover painting by Rudy Nappi for the 1959 Tower paperback cover titled A Strange Kind of Love, by Lawrence Block, written under his early pseudonym Sheldon Lord. Billed as a “daring tale of the love life of a writer and his most unusual mistress,” Block has described the story as that of […]
Artist: Rudy Nappi
This original oil painting on canvasboard was created as the paperback cover for the 1953 Popular Library publication of Afraid In The Dark by Mark Derby. A lurid page turner with tag line that reads “Vengeance and Passion in Exotic Malaya.” Our research leads us to believe this was painted by Raymond Johnson, painting is […]
Artist: Raymond Johnson
The climactic beach scene in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity is interpreted in this artwork for the men’s magazine market, and given a lurid slant well suited for the sweats. This well rendered unsigned gouache on illustration board painting comes from a collection of published works from the early years of Saga Magazine, a lurid title that thrived in the post-war pulp men’s market of the early 1950s. The work is attributed to Edward Valigursky who worked for Saga during the period.
Artist: Ed Valigursky (attributed)
In the rubble of a war-torn central square in what appears to be Cuba, a ravishing blonde in form fitting red sweater stands unscathed, and seemingly victorious. This unsigned gouache painting comes from a collection of works we recently acquired that date to the early years of Saga Magazine. Saga was a lurid Men’s title that thrived in the post-war pulp, low brow magazine market of the early 1950s. On the back of one of the pieces within the collection was a verso tag which read “attributed to Valigursky – For Saga Magazine 40’s – 50s.”
Artist: Ed Valigursky (attributed)
A direct and gritty, highly sexualized unsigned gouache on illustration board painting from a collection of works we recently acquired that are believed to come from the early years of Saga Magazine. Saga was a lurid Men’s title that thrived in the post war pulp low brow magazine market of the early 1950’s. This is a typical sweat magazine take on the old folklore tale of the farmer’s daughter. When we purchased this collection one of the old frames had a label on the back that read “attributed to Valigursky – For Saga Magazine 40’s – 50s.”
Artist: Ed Valigursky (attributed)
Triple X Rancho is perhaps the most unabashedly lurid spicy pulp scene created by Allen Anderson during his prolific career as a freelance illustrator. This image, which features a terrified yet sexually provocative pin up cowgirl being branded against her will was created as the cover of the February 1943 edition of Spicy Western Stories, Volume #8 Issue #6. This rare surviving oil painting is in a very fine state of conservation and one of but a few examples of the artist’s published pulp covers to emerge.
Artist: Allen Anderson
A lurid spicy pulp cover oil painting by Allen Anderson
created as the cover of the February 1943 edition of Speed Western Stories, Volume #1 Issue #2 (Trojan Publishing, Chicago). A rare surviving example of Western themed spicy pulp cover art, this was unearthed along with two additional original cover paintings by Allen Anderson that had for many years been displayed at the Cimarron Dude Ranch in Peekskill, New York.
Artist: Allen Anderson
