Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
Welcome to Grapefruit Moon Gallery. Here you will find an archived visual history of past sales. Pretty to look at, some are quite old; but when they're in here, consider them sold!
A large and new to the market, early 1950s pastel by Earl Moran, featuring the unlikely proportioned pin-up model Danice Daniels in a sexy, coy, playful, sex kitten pose that recalls Alberto Vargas’ work for the pages of Playboy Magazine during the era. Work is properly lined and housed in an attactive gallery frame. A fine example of Earl Moran’s masterful pastel work capturing his stylized ideals of feminine allure and temptation.
Artist: Earl Moran
A sensational colorful & brilliantly rendered nude oil painting by Robert McGinnis, who is arguably the most talented living American illustrator. A fetching stylized nude by the iconic illustrator. He is responsible for the creating some of our cultures most ingrained visuals, including movie poster campaigns including the Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster design and hundreds of book covers. A fine original work by a unique and gifted living legend and Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame member.
Artist: Robert McGinnis
An original and unusual painting by Paul Calle which illustrates The Warriors of Day by James Blish and was created as cover art for the work. This 1953 science fiction themed pulp appeared on Galaxy Fiction Novel #16. Nicely framed in a period gold gesso frame with the published pulp included in presentation.
Artist: Paul Calle
A rare surviving original oil painting by Leslie Thrasher which was created as cover art the June 18, 1927 issue of Liberty Magazine. A Westward expanionist-themed view of California real estate speculation and planned communities, featuring a handsome modernist jazz age couple imagining their new life at the intersection of Buena Vista Boulevard & Broadway. Hope, determination and an underlying tension are created with the surprising color palette and the placement of the central figures against a surround that lies purely in the speculative imagination.
Artist: Leslie Thrasher
This original commissioned painting by female pin-up artist Ruth Deckard was titled A Pin Cushion by the Calendar Company that first published it, originally titled by the artist on verso A Bar Belle. Features a cheeky brunette winsome pin-up girl in a duck pin bowling alley “sit down strike” scene. This was a very popular and wildly produced calendar in the post WWII pin-up era, and we are happy to offer the original oil on canvas, a rare original surviving artifact from the era of “The Great American Pin-up.”
Artist: Ruth Deckard
A sublime and richly rendered excursion along the low road, this gouache on illustration board was used as the front cover of Volume #1 Issue #6 of Rogue For Men an early Men’s magazine that was direct competition to Playboy for Men. A Post-war pulp artwork by Lester Bentley which illustrates the interior story by Robert Bloch titled So You’d Like to Have a Harem? Nicely matted and framed and ready to hang in your harem.
Artist: Lester Bentley
A bizarre and macabre artwork by one of our favorite illustrators Mahlon Blaine titled on verso “A Fish Story.” A mermaid Medusa-like nude rendered in a pastel colored palette with an unusual size and configuration that leads us to believe this was created as a left-hand page interior illustration in a pulp magazine such as Weird Tales. When reproduced we imagine text would have been blocked around the right edge of this highly creative image.
Artist: Mahlon Blaine
A fabulous large and radiant original oil on canvas by the acclaimed American illustrator Edward Eggleston. This alluring, Edwardian attired glamour girl in luminous moonlight surround was a commissioned calendar artwork under the title The Sweetheart of Sigmi-Chi. Produced in 1919 this same image also appeared (with a riverboat superimposed above the subject’s right shoulder) under the title Dixie. This is one of many instances where an illustrator would reuse a central image to save time while working up a new piece for a competing calendar company. In this instance, Eggleston so seamlessly removed the paddle boat from the original artwork I wouldn’t have known it existed in that form if not for the image shown in Norm Platnick’s A Lady of Mystery: A Collector’s guide to Edward Eggleston.
Artist: Edward Eggleston
A wonderful original work by the gifted and prolific Louis F. Rhead this is 4 images on one illustration board, all were used for the 1916 Harper & Brothers published edition of The Arabian Nights . The maiden was the frontispiece for the introduction section and the stylized letters where the artists created fonts for chapter first letters. This is framed in a period, antique art nouveau bat wing gesso antique frame and looks devine as such.
Artist: Louis Rhead
Grapefruitmoongallery is proud to offer one of 3 original commissioned large circular oil paintings that adorned the restaurant walls of Larue’s a legendary Hollywood, Sunset Blvd. haunt that was owned by gangster character actor Jack LaRue. Henry Clive was a frequent patron and close friend of LaRue, these paintings were purchased directly from the restaurant about 45 years ago by the artist’s son Henry Clive O’Hara. In addition to being a prolific cover illustrator for Randolph Hearst’s American Weekly, Clive painted several large risque and attention garnering commisioned mural works for Hollywood landmarks like The Jade and The Masquers Club as well as LaRue’s.
Titled The Girl of the Golden West, the painting is named after and based on a Canco tin illustration Clive created in the 1920s. The work is framed in original round art deco silver & bronze washed wood frame and dedicated To my pal Jack; Henry Clive 1956.
Artist: Henry Clive
