Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

american

A large fashion original illustration by Charles Gates Sheldon which served as an interior fashion plate for the September 1921 issue of The Woman’s Home Companion. This lovely model is adorned in the latest and stylish current evening wear a gown by Henri Bendel the title is “Very Wearable – Don’t You Think?”. This large pen & ink and wash is executed in a fine en grisaille style for interior black and white print reproduction. A stylish example by this illustrator who of course also worked as a cover artist for Photoplay magazine and the other early Hollywood Silent Movie era titles.

Very Wearable

Artist: Charles Sheldon

“Eyes That Invite” is a colorful and classic 1950 original glamour girl pin-up pastel by Pearl Frush and published by the Gerlach-Barklow Calendar Company of Joliet Illinois. This was gifted by a salesman at Gerlach-Barklow to the Robberson Steel Company of Oklahoma City in appreciation for their lucrative advertising account.

Eyes That Invite

Artist: Pearl Frush

An early 1900’s original illustration by Orson Lowell depicting a group of young boys taking in a baseball game knot-hole style. Major League Baseball of course still uses the term when larger ticket buys of youth groups are involved. I had never made a connection with the visual here, that the term stemmed from young boys peering through knot holes in the lumber used to build the outfield fences. A nostalgic Americana, baseball themed work by the gifted and prolific important golden age illustrator. Nicely matted and framed and ready to enjoy.

The Knot Hole Game

Artist: Orson Lowell

Another fine original artwork from the storied Cream of Wheat advertising archives. An original watercolor on illustration board by B. Cory Kilvert titled Lest We Forget. This large and decidedly quaint image borrows from The American Arts & Crafts aesthetic which was firmly rooted into American culture in 1907, when this image first saw light as a full page magazine ad in hundreds of popular publications such as The Saturday Evening Post. Responding to fussy, over ornamented Victorian tastes, the Arts & Crafts movement artists evoked scenes of Dutch mills and serene pastoral views presented in contrast to modern industrialization. This unique and delightful hearth and home image from this iconic advertising campaign is surely one of the most enduring images from this long running series.

Lest We Forget

Artist: B. Cory Kilvert

A bright, crisp, art deco oil on canvas, featuring a stylish flapper mother in cloche hat and her children marveling at Rastus, the iconic Cream of Wheat chef, who is winking at modernism by pointing to the picture within the picture. A very rare surviving work which is attributed to Enoch Bolles, who worked for many years creating similar streetcar advertisements for Vicks Vaporub, Squibb’s Dental Cream and Uneeda Biscuits.

Here We Are!

Artist: Enoch Bolles (attributed)

Dating to the WPA-era, when many American artists turned their attention to the perils of modernity, urbanization, and the consequences of industrialization, this oil on canvas fine art painting takes a surreal and bleak apocalyptic look at a cityscape (likely New York City) being set upon by a serpent and the wolves that act as his familiars.

City In Ruins

Artist: Unknown American Artist

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is honored to offer “They Shall Obtain Mercy,” a large and important gouache which served as preparation for one of 11 allegorical murals Savage created for The Elks Veteran Memorial in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The works are still on display at this landmark destination. This deeply moving and symbolic work reflects on the hardships and loss of World War I. This poignant, decorative, important artwork is beautifully matted and framed, and the art has a room-commanding presence.

They Shall Obtain Mercy

Artist: Eugene Savage

A dazzling original 1942 pastel on illustration board by Weston Taylor, commissioned by the C. Moss Calendar company for a pin-up calendar that was titled “Disconnected”. This is a classic art deco entanglement from pin-up’s best era, when flirty and coyly posed young flapper girls found themselves in precarious and risque situations that defy logic and often times words. Work is vivid, well rendered and in a fine gallery frame. Two archived vintage calendar prints of image included in sale. The Great American Pin-up personified.

Disconnected

Artist: Weston Taylor

 

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