Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
A large, masterfully rendered, noir dramatic interior illustration of a startled beauty by Cecil Calvert Beall. From the illustrated serialization of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu, published by Collier’s Magazine, June 12, 1948. Artwork is beautifully framed in a period gold gesso ornate frame. Story caption reads : “Camille lay on a heap of coarse canvas piled up in a corner of what seemed to be a large warehouse. There was a smell of dampness and decay in the air.”
Artist: C. C. Beall
This set of two pendant oil paintings is unusual within Wenzell’s oervre, both for its classical mythological subject and explicit eroticism. These two paintings were clearly conceived as a matched set; they present a “before” and “after” narrative. The first panel was published as a vignette in the March 26th, 1910 issue of Collier’s magazine but we don’t believe that the second work was created for publication. This pair was displayed in the Wenzell’s 1967 Maxwell Gallery (San Francisco) exhibition, “The Age of Elegance.” An illustrated program is included with sale.
Artist: Albert Wenzell
A large, masterfully rendered, noir dramatic interior illustration by Cecil Calvert Beall. From the illustrated serialization of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu, published by Collier’s Magazine in 1948. Comes with a copy of the published magazine, artwork is beautifully framed in a period gold gesso ornate frame. Story caption reads “In a dazzling, crackling flash, Nayland Smith saw a lump of solid steel not melt, but disentigrate, vanish! A pinch of gray powder alone remained.”
Artist: C. C. Beall
A wonderfully executed interior illustration for a story by Eustace Cockrell titled Compliments of R. Smith. Depicting a Christmas gift given to the gentleman center in the form of a race horse. Caption reads: “He won de second at Sunnyside Downs,” Refugee said ” Merry Christmas, Mr. Willie “. A large crisply-rendered pastel nicely framed and matted in it’s original gesso frame. Retains original Collier’s Magazine verso identification label and a full copy of the published magazine is included in the sale.
Artist: Martha Sawyers
A large and spectacular example of Sawyers’ illustrative mastery in specializing in ethnic-based exotic and often at times Far Eastern-inspired action/drama renderings. This image is reproduced in The Illustrator in America by Roger Reed on page 224. Pastel is nicely framed and matted and a complete edition of the Collier’s magazine in which the piece appeared, is included with the sale.
Artist: Martha Sawyers
A large Victorian era watercolor by famed illustrator Albert Beck Wenzell of Art Nouveau beauties amidst angels. Wenzell is best known for his illustrated book The Passing Show published by Collier’s in 1903. He did mural work for the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City at the turn of the last century and did numerous early 1900’s magazine covers including the December 1906 cover for The Saturday Evening Post.
Artist: Albert Wenzell
