art deco

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer this spectacularly executed, and exceedingly rare surviving original painting by Henry Clive of the glamorous silent era Hollywood superstar Gloria Swanson. Clive, a staff illustrator at Paramount, executed a series of portraits for for the film studio of stars including Rudolph Valentino, Mae Murray, Pola Negri, Betty Compson, Jackie Coogan and Charlie Chaplin. These portraits graced the lids of 1920s Canco company tins, and this is the only original painting from the series known to exist. It is truly rare treasure from the Lost Era of Hollywood.

Portrait of Gloria Swanson

Artist: Henry Clive

A dazzling 1920s – early 30s art deco illustration painting of a playfully posed young flapper girl in silk nightie and ermine trimmed silk robe, amusing her kitty as was often the scene. Work is stylistically mindful of Edward Eggleston and Gene Pressler who created similar fanciful colorful and ornamental images for calendar companies of the era. It is our belief that this too was a published calendar image. Signed lower right “Eyre”.

Hello Kitty

Artist: Eyre

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.

Gilda Gray in Sepia

Artist: Irving Chidnoff

A rare and exceedingly beautiful gelatin silver, double weight gallery photograph of film star Myrna Loy by Laszlo Willinger. This image utilizes a mirrored table to capture the beautiful Loy in a double image. The mirror image was one of the most innovative trends in art deco photography, as it relied on the precision lighting and bold crisp costuming that typified the period. Large double-weight photographs such as this were never intended for widespread distributions, and were hand printed by the photographers themselves.

Myrna Loy in Reflection

Artist: Laszlo Willinger

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.

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Artist: Willy Pogany

A rare surviving early signed cover painting by Enoch Bolles for the October 1925 issue of Film Fun Magazine. A delightful modernist flapper girl envisioned as only Bolles could see, titled “Port ‘O Dreams”. Painting is initialed lower middle and in a fine state of preservation. Recent auction records for this artist have topped $30,000.00 and as collectors know his original cover works are very scarce.

Port ‘O Dreams

Artist: Enoch Bolles

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.

In the Court of the Princess

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.

Au Revoir

Artist: John Held, Jr.

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

Sarahjane and Dan Murphy discuss pulpy history and Grapefruit Moon Gallery’s exhibit of original pulp cover art entitled “Hard Boiled Art” in these KMSP clips. Pulp magazine covers were very sensational and were considered the most important aspect in the sales of any particular pulp series. Socially acceptable boundaries were often tested and the topics […]

Hard Boiled Art

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