Sorry, It's Sold

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!

This is a finely executed, modernist oil-on-canvas fine art work by the important American bohemian artist, Eric von Schmidt. The painting features a loosely and emotionally presented view of a nude figure-painting art class. The abstracted presentation and languid posture of the nude sitter reflect the objection that the bohemians felt towards the commercialization of art and the body in 1950s American culture. This stunning piece of Americana modern art comes nicely matted and framed and ready to hang.

The Art Class

Artist: Eric Von Schmidt

A large, art deco era, original pastel on illustration board by the well listed and prolific American Illustrator Warde Traver. This is an as of yet unidentified calendar or magazine commission. Image features a proud brightly colored deftly rendered peacock showing his bright plumage. Work is matted and framed in period green painted wood frame.

A Proud Peacock in Pastels

Artist: Warde Traver

A rare surviving other-wordly creation by the elusive artist Arthur Spear Prince, titled Moon Flowers. A large oil on canvas which was exhibited in 1949 at the Pasadena Art Institute. Verso has an earlier Chicago gallery label as well from The House of O’Brien . A masterful American Impressionistic work in soft diffused tones with a balanced serene color palette which is typical of the world that Spear’s inhabitants presided in.

Moon Flowers

Artist: Arthur Prince Spear

We are pleased to offer this stunning pastel from 1920 by Arthur Spear Prince. A moving and evocotive fantastical work which served as a study for the larger exhibited oil painting titled “Wings of The Morning”. Labeled on verso and marked “Fenway Studios Boston.” This is framed and matted in a beautiful American Arts & Crafts aesthetic period gesso frame. Work is dated and signed lower right.

Wings of The Morning Study

Artist: Arthur Prince Spear

A rare surviving original oil on canvas by the talented cover artist Harold or H.W. McCauley (1913-1977), who specialized in science fiction genre work. Exploring fantasy, adventure and space travel themes while maintaining a keen eye for the feminine guiles and allure of the pin-up girl, McCauley was a frequent cover illustrator for Fantastic Adventures between 1939 – 1942. He later illustrated covers for Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy.This work was first used as a cover in the underground 1947 Shaver Mystery Magazine, a fanatically coveted black & white sci-fi pulp devoted to the fantasies and cosmologies of writer/artist Dick Shaver.

The Shaver Mystery Magazine Pulp Cover

Artist: Harold McCauley

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is proud to offer several scarce original paintings from the American Illustrator Charles Bosseron Chambers, including this large, dazzling, and spiritually evocative work titled Guardian Angel and Boy. Compositionally, this is a complex, stark, and questioning work. Thematically, the young boy–holding a model airplane–represents the machine age and ongoing industrialization. The angel is shown in a soft focused diffused and ethereal otherwordly world, while the boy is almost photo-realist in appearance. Their interaction calls into question the relationship between modernity and spirituality. Oil is titled on verso and framed in a wonderful carved gold gesso frame.

The Guardian

Artist: Charles Bosseron Chambers

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is proud to offer the second of several original John Louis Rhead Art Nouveau/Belle Epoque-era illustrations only recently acquired from a New York estate. This large Thanksgiving Harvest goddess colorful and stylized image is titled November in pencil by the artist on the lower margin. The work is matted and framed in a large period gesso frame. This is an astonishing and rare surviving document from this American poster master. Rhead’s work appeared alongside Alphonse Mucha, Jules Cheret and Toulouse Latrec pieces in Les Maîtres de l’Affiche (Masters of Posters) folios at the turn of the last century.

November

Artist: Louis Rhead

Fresh from a New York estate, Grapefruitmoongallery is proud to offer the first of several original John Louis Rhead Art Nouveau/Belle Epoque-era illustrations. This large harvest goddess image was exhibited at The Twenty-First Annual Exhibition Architectural League of New York 1900. The work is matted and framed in a large period gesso frame. An astonishing and rare surviving document from this American poster master. Rhead’s work appeared alongside Alphonse Mucha, Jules Cheret and Toulouse Latrec pieces in “Les Maîtres de l’Affiche” (Masters of Posters) folios at the turn of the last century.

Autumn

Artist: Louis Rhead

This is a suggestive and subtle 1929 oil on canvas painting featuring a pierrot and ballerina in a quiet ‘behind the curtain’ circus moment. This large scale stylized art deco work is mournful and gay all at once, evoking all of the tensions of jazz age culture. Italian-born Alphonse Palumbo studied in New York at the Art Students League under Louis Mora and Frank DuMond. He exhibited at the Allied Artists of America, the National Academy of Design and the Society of Independent Artists.

Pierrot and Ballerina Art Deco Interior Scene

Artist: Alphonse Palumbo

Perhaps the finest Rolf Armstrong original pastel ever offered for sale and one of only a hand full of nudes done by this iconic American illustrator. This original pastel was one of three nudes Armstrong did in the 1930’s. It was marketed as a calendar print titled, “Rosalie” as well as “Hollywood Venus”. This large, reclining nude was clearly a personal favorite of Armstrong’s. It hung on his studio walls throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. This is a large and monumental art deco masterwork by the Father of the American Pin-Up. With an expensive gallery frame, this pastel is in pristine condition with unfaded vibrant colors.

The Hollywood Venus

Artist: Rolf Armstrong

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