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 deftly rendered luminous pastel portrait of silent and early talkie legendary Hollywood film star Greta Garbo, created as the cover for the June 1934 issue of Screenland Magazine. One of the finest examples of cover portraiture we have ever come across by Charles Gates Sheldon who had a very prolific career creating stylized glamorous art deco Hollywood film star portraits for many of the leading jazz age movie magazine titles.
Artist: Charles Sheldon
An inventive and forward thinking “progress through industry” original gouache illustration painting by Theodore Haupt. This was commissioned by The New Yorker magazine and used as their May 2, 1931 cover. The imagery attempts to put a positive spin on the Great Depression using modernism, industry and the technological advances of the Machine Age as rallying points in this bustling New York City cityscape. Haupt illustrated forty four covers for The New Yorker between 1927 and 1933.
Artist: Theodore Haupt
An original published gouache illustration painting on board by the Connecticut painter and illustrator Robert Fawcett. The verso label states this was used in a Saturday Evening Post story titled the ‘Ghost Inn Society’. Signed in initials ‘RF’ and notated as Robert Fawcett on the Curtis Publishing Company verso affixed label. Outside the margins are centering spots for print usage. Image shows three women in discussion in a cluttered mid-century office done in a Norman Rockwell-like Americana illustrative style. Fine condition, well framed.
Artist: Robert Fawcett
A futuristic and important rare surviving science fiction themed mixed medium illustration by Edward Emshwiller used as the cover for the first sci-fi anthology compiled by Gnome Press under the title “Science Fiction Terror Tales” in 1955. Beautifully framed and matted behind glass and signed “Emsh” lower middle with the artists ink-stamped address on the verso.
Artist: Emsh
In this nostalgic themed oil and graphite on board, Bill Medcalf offers a view of a sleigh arriving at a rural family home. Evoking memories of ancestral Christmases past, the scene features a smiling group of three generations of kin enjoying a snowy morning. The mustached man and woman holding a baby are featured in many images created by Medcalf, and presumably these were intended to become a year long calendar, which tells a story of a family through time.
Artist: William Medcalf
An inventive and unique hand crafted Holiday Seasons Greeting Card from the F. Burtis Clayton Company who we believe were a commercial airbrush art studio. The cover features a streamlined airbrushed painting of a modernist silhouetted cityscape with planes, trains and automobiles ushering in the machine age. Nicely framed, this opens to reveal text and New Year’s wishes as would a more typical holiday card.
Artist: Unknown
Capitalizing on the mid-1950s nostalgia for a lost vision of the American heartland, William Medcalf presents a view of a 19th century midwest barn dance, with smiling couples who appear plucked straight of out of the 1955 Academy Award winning musical Oklahoma!. This large, colorful, highly expressive oil on board with graphite highlights was created as the final preliminary painting for a published Brown & Bigelow calendar image. During the 50s, Bil Medcalf was known as one of the company’s star illustrators, and created numerous 12 page calendar series based around themes of classic Americana.
Artist: William Medcalf
During the 50s, Bil Medcalf was one of Brown & Bigelow’s star illustrators, creating 12 page calendar series based around themes of classic Americana. Here, he evokes a classic 4th of July celebration with revelers enjoying a day at Riverside Park. From the soldier checking out the ravishing redhead disembarking her carriage, to the new parents cooing over their baby buggy, the scene evokes a vision of a simpler time, and a patriotic and nostalgic sense of 19th century America.
Artist: William Medcalf
This nostalgic oil and graphite on illustration board, offers a peek into the early days of automotive touring. Bill Medcalf created this as a final presentation painting for one of Brown & Bigelow’s historically themed 12 month Americana calendars. In their finest Sunday clothes, a family taking a jaunt in their 1908-era Ford Model T find themselves lost on a country road. Bringing many of the classic archetypes of early motoring together, the male driver of the car refuses to look at the map his wife is consulting, while a farmer (who has likely never seen a car before) directs them in exactly the opposite direction than they were headed.
Artist: William Medcalf
During the 50s, Bil Medcalf was one of Brown & Bigelow’s star illustrators, creating 12 page calendar series based around themes of classic Americana. Here, he evokes a county fair, with sideshow attractions, and a boy enjoying his first ride on a horse, as his family beams with pride. The scene evokes a vision of a simpler time, and a patriotic and nostalgic sense of 19th century America. This large, colorful, highly expressive oil on board with graphite highlights was created as the final preliminary painting for a published Brown & Bigelow calendar image. Each month likely celebrated a different seasonal landmark.
Artist: William Medcalf
