A dated 1938 and signed illustration by American illustrator Winold Reiss used as a book plate with a caption that reads, “I was so bewildered that I ran back a few yards…”
Artist: Winold Reiss
1930s
This seductive, newly unearthed Henry Clive illustration painting was created as the cover for the July 23, 1933 edition of The American Weekly, a Randolph Hearst publication. The magazine often commissioned Clive to create serialized images of enchantresses that shared a thematic thread. In this case, cosmopolitan exotic beauties in the crossfire of cupid’s bow. For this, the […]
Artist: Henry Clive
An Art Deco era, golden age Henry Clive illustration painting that appeared as the cover for the June 11,1933 edition of The American Weekly, a Randolph Hearst publication. The magazine often commissioned Clive to create serialized images of enchantresses that shared a thematic thread. In this case, foreign beauties caught in the crossfire of cupid’s bow. A […]
Artist: Henry Clive
This rare surviving original oil on canvas by H.J. Ward was created for the September, 1938 edition of Romantic Western. Only in the upside down, just plain evil world of the pulps would such a lurid and unchivalrous ultra-violent depiction exist on the same playing field with the word romantic. Painted with enough action to capture […]
Artist: H.J. Ward
This rare original oil on canvas spicy pulp painting by Earle K. Bergey is an exciting recent estate find. Used as the cover of the October, 1935 issue of Pep Stories, this topless majorette pin-up girl exudes perhaps just a little too much “pep” as she winds up tumbling back-side-first into a large marching drum. This captures the exuberance […]
Artist: Earle K. Bergey
Earle K. Bergey’s spicy pulp covers are known for their provocative, even lawless sensuality. It’s the root of their wild, jazz age, hedonistic charm. Even eighty years later, Bergey’s art looks daring, modern, and cool. Since more than 90% of original pulp cover artwork is thought to be lost, we were over the moon to come across two fresh-to-the-market original […]
Created for the October, 1935 issue of the spicy pulp title La Paree, this is a rare surviving original cover painting by Earle K. Bergey. In this whimsical jazz-age art deco scene, a blonde flapper girl is attempting to choose who will get to play the part of her dream man. Vying for the title are a […]
Artist: Earle K. Bergey
With cool blue undertones and moody, dramatic shadowing, this published oil on canvas interior illustration is a departure for artist Benton Henderson Clark who primarily created warm & vibrant narrative frontier and western scenes. Accompanying an interior story for Cosmopolitan magazine titled “The King’s Son”, a handsome and sharply dressed prince smokes a cigarette during […]
Artist: Benton Henderson Clark
Grapefruit Moon Gallery just unearthed a small collection of original Campbell’s Soup Kids illustrations. These appeared as print ads in countless American mainstream publications such as The Saturday Evening Post in the 1930s. In this offering a Dolly Dingle-type character Campbell’s Soup Kid doubles as a railroad flagbearer with lantern ablaze attesting to the importance of the railroad in 20th century American history. Verso is stamped with a usage print date of 10/11/33. Painting is nicely matted and framed behind glass and ready to hang.
Artist: School of Grace Drayton
This important original gouache painting by Erté, the father of Art Deco, was created as a cover illustration for Harper’s Bazaar and was published in December 1932. Erté had a more than twenty year association with the magazine, and during that period created upwards of two hundred covers for the title, defining their sophisticated take on fashion and high […]
Artist: Erté
