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!
The Circle Of Life is an art deco allegorical avant-garde pen & ink drawing by Cardwell Higgins. This early offering by the renowned illustrator recalls the erotic and stylized work of British artist Aubrey Beardsley while considering man’s relationship to mortality. This is part of a series of similarly exotic and provocative drawings Higgins created between 1927 – 1929, which would much […]
Artist: Cardwell Higgins
A climactic moment from the epic story of Don Quixote as depicted by by Willy Pogany. This is titled on verso in the artist’s hand “The Enchanters Put Don Q. In A Cage”. A commissioned “Golden Age of Illustration” work used in a 1920s adaptation of Don Quixote. Signed lower right beautifully framed and silk matted behind glass.
Artist: Willy Pogany
An action filled battle at sea original watercolor illustration painting by noted Hungarian born Golden Age Illustrator Willy Pogany. Used in a 1920s adaptation of Don Quixote, in this scene an alluring sea siren means certain death in this fantasy laden, impactful work that is beautifully framed and silk matted behind glass.
Artist: Willy Pogany
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
This large signed oil painting with an erotic science fiction/fantasy theme was exhibited at 1976’s OrlandoCon, an event that in many ways seems to be the template for todays Comic Con. McCauley was featured as an honored guest at the Florida comic convention, and unveiled previously unseen works that were either painted and unpublished in […]
Artist: Harold McCauley
A very well executed WPA in aesthetic moody tonalist 1930s to early 1940s fine art oil painting by the Lithuanian-American artist Jack Levitz. The artist was a Jewish immigrant who settled in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. Levitz’s Social Realist/Ashcan School style recalls George Luks and Everett Shinn. This oil on masonite painting shows a New […]
Artist: Jack Levitz
A moving gouache-on-board painting by Amos Sewell, this appeared as an interior illustration in the March, 1947 edition of Redbook magazine, accompanying a story by Peter Stirling Cardoza titled “Take Care of Jimmy.” This image shows a tearful farewell at a train window, dramatically and tenderly rendered by this well-listed and important American illustrator. Nicely framed and matted […]
Artist: Amos Sewell
A humorous, art deco, Spanish flavored gouache illustration created for the cover of the May 24, 1930 edition of Judge magazine. A quirky scene by frequent Judge cover artist Frank Hanley titled The Serenade. This is nicely framed and matted in a period wood frame and comes with a complete edition of the published magazine.
Artist: Frank Hanley
These four comical and deftly rendered gouache illustration paintings show four faces of the 1950s Texaco Man. These explore the overly quizzical and confused faces made by a service station attendant tasked with describing the particulars of car troubles that caused distress for 1950s highway tourists. Together, they hint at the dishonesty associated with […]
Artist: Harold McCauley
