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.
The Louis F. Dow Calendar Company of Saint Paul, Minnesota commissioned this pristine and rare surviving pin-up painting by Art Frahm for publication in their 1944 calendar line under the title “Pay Off.” The image shows an underdressed, impish redhead having an “oops” moment as she is drenched by the puppy she has just so carefully bathed. This painting is […]
Artist: Art Frahm
A curvy nude pin-up beauty in a red wide brimmed mid-century hat contently admires her reflection in this original pin-up painting by Harry Ekman. This was previously part of the collection of pin-up historian and author Charles Martignette and appears in the 1996 Taschen volume The Great American Pin-Up (page 153, plate #326) co-authored by Martignette and Louis K. […]
Artist: Harry Ekman
A 1949 Western Americana cowgirl themed gouache on illustration board which comes directly from the archives of the 100-year-old San Francisco ad agency/lithography company “Stecher-Traung & Schmidt.” The work is in the style of George Petty, and Ben-Hur Baz. Among other noted artists Stecher-Traug employed Gil Elvgren, E.B. Segner & Mary Mayo. This commissioned illustration is dated and inkstamped in the lower corner but is unsigned. Work is beautifully framed and matted in a period ornate gesso frame.
Artist: Unknown
A pristine and important surviving Henry Clive illustration painting that appeared as the cover for the July 16, 1933 edition of The American Weekly, a Randolph Hearst publication. The magazine often commissioned Clive to create serialized images of enchantresses that shared a thematic thread. In this case, exotic maidens in the crossfire of cupid’s bow. Our […]
Artist: Henry Clive
An exceedingly rare surviving Henry Clive cover illustration from his 20+ years creating for The American Weekly. This painting was from a series done in 1934 titled, Darlings of the Poets. In this series, Clive illustrated the inspirations for leading poets and writers. This particular oil on canvas depicts “Lenore” as the lost and sorrowful inspiration behind The Raven as written by Edgar Allan Poe.
Artist: Henry Clive
This original published pin-up painting by Gil Elvgren appeared as a 1968 Brown & Bigelow calendar with the title “Swingin’ Sweetie”. A classic offering from the very tail end of the pin-up craze when the summer of love swept in a new style that wreaked havoc on earlier presentations of pin-up girl femininity. While some artists tried to respond to the […]
Artist: Gil Elvgren
Cleopatra is one of only two commissioned published calendar pin-up paintings created by Henry Clive for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company of Saint Paul Minnesota, the other work Sultana was previously sold by our gallery. Featuring an exotic nearly nude dreamy enchantress in an Art Deco Egyptian fantasy pyramid adorned dreamscape, this enchanting artwork […]
Artist: Henry Clive
A glamorous, art deco Petty Girl mixed media illustration from 1938 that appeared in the pages of Esquire Magazine with the quip “Thanks for the hospitality, Mr. Grover, but I don’t mind going home in the rain.“ In this sophisticated rendering, we see a sexy svelte blonde in a form fitting satin gown […]
Artist: George Petty
An iconic and rare surviving pin-up painting by Ben-Hur Baz which was published as a calendar with the title Maid In Muskegon. The image shows a strawberry blonde hot number seductively posed in a strapless bikini ala Marilyn Monroe. This artist did several pin-ups very closely based on the notorious Hollywood blonde bombshell, but it is unlikely that […]
Artist: Ben-Hur Baz
A deliriously fresh published Petty Girl mixed media pin-up illustration from 1937 that appeared in the pages of Esquire magazine with the quip “He doesn’t smoke and he doesn’t drink – I don’t know what I’ll do to amuse him”. A masterful rendering of a sexy modernist redhead who is clearly styled after Bette […]
Artist: George Petty
