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!

A large scale impressive oil on stretched canvas by noted New York City illustrator Howard Chandler Christy titled “Surrender of the Blockhouse, Spanish-American War”. A boldly rendered impressionist work that depicts one of the war’s climactic battle scenes of 1898. Signed lower left and framed with a title plaque. Stretcher bar bears the notation “Oct. Cover.” This is a defining example of the artist’s historically impactful work that deftly shows Christy’s expertise in making battle scenes come to life.

Surrender of the Blockhouse

Artist: Howard Chandler Christy

A luminous and sensational oil on canvas by Charles Edward Chambers, a masterful magazine and advertising illustrator of the jazz age. Chambers created this remarkable, highly sensuous Polynesian enchantress scene as a commissioned interior magazine illustration, likely for Cosmopolitan where he was under exclusive contract for many years. This uninhibited and erotic island dance scene is one of Chambers’ finest paintings, and a masterful example of early 20th century exoticism in illustration.

Fire Dancer

Artist: Charles Edward Chambers

A large well preserved pencil signed copper plate etching by Stephen Parrish, the celebrated artist, etcher and father of beloved American Illustrator Maxfield Parrish. Featuring a New England harbor view with a lone fisherman standing on the pier. The presence of the figure is unusual for etchings by Parrish, whose harbor landscapes rarely featured images of people. This was framed in the 1920s and retains the original unopened backing paper and a verso label from “E & A Art Shop.” The etching is signed in pencil lower right in the margin and is in an fine state of preservation. A rich impression on Japan paper in excellent condition.

A Harbor Scene With Figure

Artist: Stephen Parrish

A fresh to the market (and fresh in subject matter) 1940s original pin-up painting by Edward D’Ancona, created for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company. Titled “Downstairs Maid” this is really a spirited rendering with an overtly erotic theme. For those of you keeping score, this commissioned cheesecake “Americana gone wrong” genre of pin-up art is white hot currently. This is by all accounts a defining example. This published illustration painting is in a very fine state of conservation, nicely matted and framed and ready to hang in your gallery, library or home.

The Downstairs Maid

Artist: Edward D'Ancona

A Grecian inspired, fantasy themed, mixed media illustration that was used by the Thos. D. Murphy Calendar company for a 1930 calendar titled The Glory That Was Ancient Greece. This whimsical yet erotic Grecian maiden themed work consists of a heavily tinted photograph of the two Grecian adorned beauties by L.G. Woolenden and an elaborate garden landscape painting by Rudolph Ingerle that envelopes the photographic element. This team of enterprising calendar art talents created numerous works under the pseudonym L. Goddard Surviving original L Goddard artworks are quite rare and spectacular, and among our favorite examples of fantastical and escapist art deco/Great Depression calendar illustration. A large printed calendar from the Thomas D. Murphy calendar company archives is included in the sale.

The Glory That Was Ancient Greece

Artist: L. Goddard

A finely rendered lovely red headed nude siren by Pal Fried, this is a fresh Chicago estate find in a fine state of original conservation in a handsome ornate carved wood period frame. Titled on back of canvas “Tina” in the artists hand, a defining and sexually charged erotic depiction by the prolific and celebrated Hungarian portrait painter.

Tina

Artist: Pal Fried

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer this recently unearthed George Jerome Rozen pulp painting featuring the Shadow in dramatic confrontation. Featured as the cover of the September 15, 1936 edition of Street and Smith’s long running series “The Shadow,” this is an important offering an exceedingly scarce surviving original pulp cover painting from the golden age of illustration. Recently uncovered from a Pennsylvania estate, as collectors will lament, original cover paintings from The Shadow prove near impossible to locate.

The Shadow In Jibaro Death

Artist: Jerome Rozen

A delightful and rare surviving Art Frahm pin-up Calendar oil painting likely commissioned by The Joseph Hoover Calendar Company. This was from the collection of the late Charles Martignette, co-author of “The Great American Pin-up”. Verso indicates the work was done by Vaughan Bass but it is clearly initialed lower left by Art Frahm and is the work of Frahm without question. This was likely mislabeled years ago by a Calendar Company printer or office worker.

Come on Over

Artist: Art Frahm

A well rendered 1970s time capsule painting by Don Ivan Punchatz, for the paperback cover of the 1970 Avon title “Hawksbill Station”. This work is reminiscent of the album cover art from this remarkable time, and speaks to the psychedelic youth culture popular at the time, which moved from the buttoned-up consumerist graphics of the previous generation towards hyper realist imagery thought to heighten the sensations of LSD and marijuana. Work is unframed and mounted on a masonite panel, a copy of the book is included in the sale.

Hawksbill Station

Artist: Don Ivan Punchatz

A well rendered and rare surviving 1920s original oil on board illustration by the prolific New York artist Charles M. Relyea. Featuring an art deco Indian Maiden this is a fine example of American calendar art and was a widely published image titled “Chums” which evokes the allure of the Indian Maiden and wonderfully captures the Depression-era popular fascination with exotic-themed escapism.

Chums

Artist: Charles Relyea

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