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!
On offer is a defining menace-themed oil on canvas pulp cover painting by Rafael DeSoto which appeared on the October, 1934 issue of Black Book Detective Magazine, with an occult scene evoking the mysteries of Halloween. A provocatively posed blonde in rapturous abandon stands before the eerie fire of a cauldron, holding the flames in her hands and proving […]
Artist: Rafael Desoto
A large preliminary rendering by Gil Elvgren of a work completed for Brown & Bigelow in 1948 with the title – “Do You Think I “No” Too Much ?” This image also appeared with the title “My Datebook’s Showing Signs Of Age”. This comes from a collection of Elvgren preliminary graphite drawings we acquired which […]
Artist: Gil Elvgren
This stunning oil on canvas painting by the illustrator F.R. Harper, presents a beautiful partisan French fighter looking over the ruins of a French village. Harper gained notoriety at the turn of the last century for his nostalgic and beautiful Indian Maiden images, and as World War I unfolded, he turned his attention to images like this which personified patriotic […]
Artist: F.R. Harper
This sparkling original oil on canvas by Robert George Harris appeared the December 1948 issue of McCall’s magazine, illustrating the story “When the Right One Comes Along” by Clara Wallace Overton. The long-running women’s magazine was known for its romantic fiction, and the hospital workplace love affair was a particularly popular subgenre. Here, the lovely nurse realizes the dashing compassionate doctor is […]
Artist: Robert George Harris
An impacting gouache illustration painting by the prolific American artist Jules Gotlieb, for the November 25, 1951 issue of The American Weekly, a Randolph Hearst publication. This was part of an ongoing series about prehistoric times which the supplement ran in 1951. Other artists that worked for this long running title include Henry Clive, Willy […]
Artist: Jules Gotlieb
In 1947–as the world reeled from the scale of the devastation caused by the Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and an increasing Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation–Coronet Magazine commissioned Chesley Bonestell to illustrate a haunting “picture story” that showcased eight different catastrophes which could bring upon an end to life […]
Artist: Chesley Bonestell
This deftly painted cover illustration by Leslie Thrasher was created for the June 7th, 1930 edition of Liberty Magazine, and showcases the artist’s finely tuned ability to capture the spirit of the time in which he worked. The image shows two ruddy children in a game of dress-up, as a pair of blind and […]
Artist: Leslie Thrasher
An other-worldy science fiction themed interior editorial illustration by the British illustrator Peter Lloyd for the December 1977 issue of Chic Magazine. For a story titled Close Encounters In Acapulco by Don Strachan. The story’s tag line reads… “When the world’s top UFO experts met in Mexico, they turned out to be as spacey […]
Artist: Peter Lloyd
This oil on canvas Americana original illustration by E.M. Jackson dates to the 1920s and presents a vision of the working man as “King for a Day.” Titled “Labor Day,” this was likely created as cover art for a September issue of a title from the Curtis publishing line of magazines. Along with the Saturday […]
Artist: E.M. Jackson
A dramatically conceived illustration by the prolific New York based early twentieth century illustrator P. J. Monahan–this was likely created as cover art for an as-of-yet-unidentified pulp magazine. A flapper girl damsel in distress in dramatic light and shadow recoils as she attempts to fend off a man attacking her with a large brass candlestick. […]
Artist: P.J. Monahan
