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.
Earl Moran created this coquettish and sassy pin-up pastel for Brown and Bigelow’s 1941 calendar line. It was published with the title Fishermans’s Luck. The image shows an outdoorsy redhead beauty fly fishing wading into the water, legs on full display. This fresh-to-the-market original pastel is in a pristine state of conservation and retains the […]
Artist: Earl Moran
[wp_paypal button=”buynow” name=”Adorable by Fritz Boynton” amount=”2500.00″ no_shipping=”2″ quantity=”1″ return=”https://grapefruitmoongallery.com/thank-you-for-your-order” cancel_return=”https://grapefruitmoongallery.com/your-order-was-not-processed” button_image=”https://grapefruitmoongallery.com/wp-content/buy-now.png” target=”blank”] This breezy pin-up calendar illustration by Fitz William Boynton depicts a sassy redheaded flapper girl with bobbed red hair enjoying a day at the beach with Scottie dog in tow. A vintage salesman sample of the calendar image is included in the […]
Artist: Fitz Boynton
This original pin-up calendar painting by Art Frahm appeared in 1952 under the title Spare? and nows lives in pop culture infamy as one of the artist’s “Embarrassment Series” images. In this oil on canvas painting a startled pretty but hapless young blonde bowls a frame and loses her undergarments much to […]
Artist: Art Frahm
This is a fun, well-conceived, and luminous original pin-up calendar painting by Art Frahm that appeared in the 1947 Louis F. Dow Calendar Company line under the title Cute Trick. In this oil on canvas painting, a startled, pretty young blonde is catching up on some late night reading when she is […]
Artist: Art Frahm
Our Gallery previously sold this pastel in April of 2015; we are very pleased to offer it again for sale! Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer one of the finest Earl Moran pastels ever available for sale. Titled Now, This Is Just Between You And Me, this showcases the young Blue […]
Artist: Earl Moran
Peter Driben vintage and original pin up painting created as cover for Wink Magazine. For sale at Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
Artist: Peter Driben
For Sale: signed and inscribed pastel by Rolf Armstrong showcasing Jewel Flowers, his most iconic model, muse, closest friend and confidant.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
On offer is the final original preliminary pastel by Rolf Armstrong for his late 1950s Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company calendar “Delightful”.
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
A charming and warmly fraternal charcoal portrait of Jewel Flowers dated 1945, that was inscribed by the American artist Rolf Armstrong and given to the models parents – Mr. & Mrs. Colton Flowers. As a teenager Jewel Flowers was crowned “Miss Lumberton, North Carolina”, she moved to New York City at 17 after graduating […]
Artist: Rolf Armstrong
Bunny Yeager, the pre-eminent female pin-up photographer of the 20th century took this pin-up self-portrait in 1953.
Artist: Bunny Yeager
