Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

child

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to offer The World’s Fare, a rare surviving archived Cream of Wheat original oil painting. This 1923 artwork was reproduced as a full page advertisement in hundreds of American magazines. Featuring the iconic chef “Rastus” feeding a host of ethnically diverse, exotically dressed and cleverly posed children. Along with other selections from the archive, The World’s Fare was loaned out in the late 1980s for a touring gallery exhibition. None of the original paintings commissioned for Cream of Wheat advertising have ever previously been available for sale and we are delighted to offer them.

The World’s Fare

Artist: Edward Brewer
Price:  Sold

A large colorful original oil on canvas by The Saint Paul Minnesota artist and Illustrator Edward Vincent Brewer; titled Passed by the Board. A rare surviving archived Cream of Wheat original oil painting that was included in the multi-city museum touring exhibit organized in the 1980’s showcasing the Cream of Wheat Brand advertising art. This 1923 artwork was reproduced as a full page advertisement in hundreds of American magazines and is featured as a full page colorplate on page 76 in The Cream of Wheat Advertising Art book. Cream of Wheat employed giants in the field of illustration to create their enduring advertisements. Counted among those are N.C. Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith, Phillip Goodwin, J.C. Leyendecker, and James Montgomery Flagg. With the help of this stable of talent, the Cream of Wheat advertising campaign would come to define some of the most recognizable visions of American hearth and home.

Passed By the Board

Artist: Edward Brewer
Price:  Sold

During the 50s, Bil Medcalf was one of Brown & Bigelow’s star illustrators, creating 12 page calendar series based around themes of classic Americana. Here, he evokes a county fair, with sideshow attractions, and a boy enjoying his first ride on a horse, as his family beams with pride. The scene evokes a vision of a simpler time, and a patriotic and nostalgic sense of 19th century America. This large, colorful, highly expressive oil on board with graphite highlights was created as the final preliminary painting for a published Brown & Bigelow calendar image. Each month likely celebrated a different seasonal landmark.

The County Fair

Artist: William Medcalf
Price:  S O L D

An endearing, albeit slightly sinister, interior hearth and home Americana scene titled “Magic Spell” by noted calendar and pin-up artist Vaughan Bass. In this late 1940s work, the newly invented television takes center stage in a room of otherwise unsupervised children of all ages. All participants are transformed by the magic spell cast by the glowing console. The unpainted television screen surface would act as advertising placement in the finished calendar where text would be added to appear as though it was on the T.V.

Magic Spell

Artist: Vaughan Bass
Price:  S O L D

A delightful oil on canvas by Eugenie Wireman likely used by the Curtis Publishing Company as a Christmas magazine cover circa 1910 – 1920. Wireman studied under Howard Pyle and worked as a Brandywine school illustrator creating children’s book illustrations, magazine covers, and advertising art for many Golden Age of Illustration magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post. A delightful view of a young child enjoying the spoils of a bountiful Christmas Morning, with great imagery and antique toy laden fanciful nostalgic appeal.

Christmas Morning

Artist: Eugenie Wireman
Price:  S O L D

A delightful, vibrant watercolor work by Frances Tipton Hunter commissioned either for calendar use or as a cover for an American mainstream magazine. A wholesome Americana depiction titled “For A Good Boy,” this scene typifies the style Hunter was known for. A group of children marvel at the center boys new bicycle presented him on his birthday the card reads “For a Good Boy…” Piece is nicely matted and framed, signed lower right and addressed on the verso in the artist’s hand with her Philadelphia Pa. address.

For a Good Boy

Artist: Francis Tipton Hunter
Price:  S O L D

An early original commissioned painting by The Saint Paul Minnesota artist Edward V. Brewer for The Cream of Wheat Company. Image appeared in countless magazines in 1916 and was one of 102 works the artist created for the cereal giant. Titled “He Sho’ Thinks He’s Hiding” the work appears as a full page color-plate (page 68) in Dave Stivers collectors book, “The Nabisco Brands Collection of Cream of Wheat Advertising Art.”

He Sure Thinks He’s Hiding

Artist: Edward Brewer
Price:  Sold

A kinetic and delightful winter snow scene by Edward Vincent Brewer created in 1925 for a Cream of Wheat Print ad titled “Little Engines That Burn Up Energy.” This oil on canvas was carefully archived for decades at the now-defunct Cream of Wheat factory in Northeast Minneapolis, MN. Work is beautifully framed and in a pristine state of preservation.

Little Engines That Burn Up Energy

Artist: Edward Brewer
Price:  S O L D

An original illustration treasure from the storied Cream of Wheat vaults, this oil-on-canvas by William V. Cahill was used for the 1913 advertisement titled Breakfast’s Ready Li’l Missy. This is perhaps the finest of the 18 works created by this Howard Pyle student for Cream of Wheat. An interior genre scene (in the same interior) painted in 1912 by Cahill titled “The Dress Fitting” set records in a New York City Sotheby’s Arcade Auction selling for a staggering $327,200.

Breakfast’s Ready Li’l Missy

Artist: William Cahill
Price:  S O L D

A nostalgic oil on canvas by long time Cream of Wheat illustrator Edward Vincent Brewer created for their 1913 advertising campaign. In “Forty Winks” Brewer’s own children are seen mischievously posed around the chef as he takes a brief nap. This image is a timeless and rich piece of Americana from the archives of the Cream of Wheat advertising vaults, and has never been publicly offered for sale. This new to the market artwork is in pristine archived condition.

Forty Winks

Artist: Edward Brewer
Price:  S O L D

 

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