Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
A colorful and festive original gouache painting by the prolific Hungarian artist Willy Pogany created as an interior book plate illustration. A drunken king is carried off by the kingdom’s subjects after a sumptious feast in this colorful and cleverly rendered original illustration. The verso is notated “pg. 47” this was a published work. It is boldly signed lower right and nicely matted and framed behind glass.
Artist: Willy Pogany
A deeply romantic jazz age view of Gilda Gray, “the Shimmy girl” from her starring turn in “The Devil’s Dancer.” This is a treasure of the orientalist movement in photography in the 1920s, featuring the theater and film star in highly exotic lush costuming and soft focus, hyper close up style. The rich sepia of the photography and the soft focus were among the signatures of photographer Irving Chidnoff, who specialized in these idealized yet realistic photographic portraits of theater and films stars in New York.
Artist: Irving Chidnoff
A large and magnificent rare surviving signed F. Earl Christy pastel advertising illustration on canvas for “The Princess Pat” Cosmetic Company. A defining glamorous pin-up girl with a chic and elegantly sophisticated jazz-age style and modernist machine age aesthetic. F. Earl Christy was a prolific early 1900’s illustrator who’s career spanned four decades. We rarely come across his original works this is an estate fresh large and luminous example from his best period nicely matted and framed in a pristine state of original conservation.
Artist: Earl Christy
A hard-boiled and erotically posed masterful gallery portrait photograph of Winifred Shaw, from her role in the Rodger’s and Hart play “Simple Simon.” Shaw, a unique beauty with vixenish jazz age features, was soon to become a Hollywood musical performer in the wild Depression era productions of the 1930s. In this photograph by Roberts, with its naturalistic styling, and provocative smoking view, Winifred Shaw is shown in all her unique beauty and iconic eroticism. A rare example of the raw sexuality of jazz age theater photography.
Artist: Roberts of Boston
A wonderfully inventive and unique early space-age (dated 1955) gouache calendar illustration by Bill Layne for the Royal 76 Gas Station chain. Showing the companies inventive and modernist machine age state of the art service station facilities. Uniquely embellished by the artist with his familiar elf figures and space exploration themes. Banner flag reads “Tickets Here For Cosmic Ray Absorber”. This is a tremendous futuristic work that should find traction among Petroliana collectors and space-age/atomic age lovers.
Artist: Bill Layne
A large and decorative gouache and graphite illustration by Willy Pogany titled on verso in the artists hand “Love’s Labour’s Lost”. Likely used in a William Shakespeare adaptation perhaps a cover for “The American Weekly” a large courting scene and a grand depiction by this very important artist from “The Golden Age of Illustration”. Work is beautifully silk matted and framed behind glass and ready to hang.
Artist: Willy Pogany
An unusual and impacting Edwin Georgi interior illustration that appeared in The March 1952 Edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine in a story titled “The Coward”. A luminous and other wordly Georgi-girl seemingly kissing an enlisted soldier engaged in fierce combat goodbye.
Artist: Edwin Georgi
A bizarre and gritty subway terror scene by Mort Kunstler from the “War at Home” genre prevalent in 1960s Men’s Magazine art. This depiction finds a handful of thugs in their best Lords of Flatbush garb accosting a pretty mod damsel. A square jawed, tough as nails Cold War era Military Man prevails in the name of justice over some assorted juvenile delinquents in this archetypical depiction of the ongoing culture war of the 60s. This was used as a May cover “For Men Only Magazine” with the title “Underground Angels Who Terrorized New York’s Subways”. This is an electric work; if you are a fan of the genre, this gouache painting has it all.
Artist: Mort Künstler
A colorful and festive original gouache painting by the prolific Hungarian artist Willy Pogany for an as of yet undetermined interior book plate illustration. A courting scene with a knight and princess assembled in a far away idyllic surround. The verso is notated with “pg. 26” this was a published work it is boldly signed lower right and nicely matted with a silk mat and framed behind glass.
Artist: Willy Pogany
A whimsical roaring twenties stylized art deco pen & ink illustration by John Held Jr. for “Dutton’s Au Revoir Boxes”. Framed with the original box label this was created for, a nautically themed work with a sailor and his flapper girl sweetie. The Park Avenue, New York company manufactured durable boxes that were to be used in cruise ship travel. From the Charles Martignette estate.
Artist: John Held, Jr.
