Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
Risqué and fetching maidens have always been popular artistic subjects and the perfect vehicle to advertise just about any product, add allure to any magazine, or brighten any calendar. In the 1930s, Rolf Armstrong and Billy Devorss’s Art Deco sophisticates were everyone’s dream girl. During World War II, George Petty and Alberto Vargas created patriotic lithe modernist heartbreakers for the pages of Esquire Magazine to keep servicemen company, and soon there was a calendar girl for every taste--whether you preferred the girl next door or the one from the wrong side of the tracks. In post-war America, the youthful spirit personified by Earl Moran’s cheesecake depictions of Marilyn Monroe reigned, and pin up and glamour art remained unflaggingly popular. Today, original pin up and glamour art is more coveted by collectors than ever, and its influence on contemporary fashion, art, and culture is everywhere.
This original fine art figure study by the pre-eminent pin up illustrator comes from a collection of Gil Elvgren preliminary graphite drawings that we acquired which were found in a house in Sarasota, Florida where the artist once lived. With restraint and a detailed eye towards anatomy, the artist captures a brunette with a contemplative pose, offering […]
Artist: Gil Elvgren
This remarkable, large, and colorful pastel by Billy Devorss was created for Brown & Bigelow’s 1941 calendar line and was published under the title Pretty Smooth. Unlike most of the pin-up artists working during the Golden Age of Illustration, Devorss never signed an exclusive contract with any of the calendar companies, and instead enjoyed incredible popularity […]
Artist: Billy Devorss
This alluring jazz age portrait of Evelyn Brent by Rolf Armstrong of silent film star Evelyn Brent was commissioned as original artwork for the cover of the March 1930 issue of Screenland Magazine. Armstrong executed a series of covers for this title between 1929 – 1930; he once remarked that Brent had the most perfect face he had ever portrayed. Pastel is matted and framed behind glass and in a fine state of original conservation.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
A large expressive C. 1920 Art Deco American painting signed by the artist Sidis, a name which is unfamiliar to us. Though mysterious, this is a fabulous work featuring a harem of nude forest sprites making merriment in lavish erotic dance. The tree foliage is boldly applied impasto paint, which provides stark contrast to the muted tones […]
Artist: Sidis
This is a large preliminary charcoal drawing by Gil Elvgren that evokes two calendar works the artist completed for Brown & Bigelow; 1951’s Party Line and 1958’s A Good Connection. This is signed by Gil Elvgren lower right, above a note by the artist for the art director at Brown & Bigelow, Clair […]
Artist: Gil Elvgren
This is a large preliminary charcoal drawing by Gil Elvgren, a study for the Brown & Bigelow pin-up calendar painting published in 1956 with the title Fit To Be Tied. This comes from a collection of Elvgren preliminary graphite drawings that we acquired which were found in a house in Sarasota, Florida where the artist once […]
Artist: Gil Elvgren
Morning Song is an outstanding large format pastel pin-up illustration by the leading female illustrator Zoë Mozert, which was commissioned for The Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company of Saint Paul Minnesota. Perhaps the artist’s finest moment, capturing the seductive innocence of a fresh faced young nude in commune with a colorful parakeet. This image first appeared around 1950 with […]
Artist: Zoe Mozert
The Fairest Flower is a deliriously sexy rare surviving nude pin-up pastel by Zoe Mozert created for The Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company. In 1941, after a prolific decade long career as a leading pulp and movie magazine cover illustrator, Zoe Mozert signed on as a staff artist with Brown & Bigelow where she quickly established herself […]
Artist: Zoe Mozert
We are again offering this published oil on canvas pin-up painting by Arnold Armitage as the original buyer never made subsequent payments from a purchase in 2015. Created as a pin up calendar commission for The Louis F. Dow company of Saint Paul Minnesota. In the scene, the proverbial girl next door is shown with a […]
Artist: Arnold Armitage
Lady of Mystery is a supreme example of art deco pin-up calendar art by Edward Eggleston, created in 1938 for the V.P. Wright Litho Company. Without question, this is one of the most iconic images from the 1930s, and for good reason. The purple prose V.P. Wright came up with to adorn the calendar does a better […]
Artist: Edward Eggleston
