egyptian

This rare original painting by Henry Clive graced the cover of the October 13, 1946 edition of William Randolph Hearst’s The American Weekly. Clive often played with serialized themes in his work for the magazine, and this Egyptian inspired image was from a series entitled “Pin-up Girls of History.” Pictured as Cleopatra is the lovely Hollywood film star Dorothy Lamour, whose impossibly good looks and exotic features draw comparison to the legendary queen of the Nile, though the actress never portrayed her in film.

Pin-Up Girls of History – Cleopatra

Artist: Henry Clive

This tantalizingly exotic Art Deco watercolor painting is by photographer, pulp artist, and illustrator Lejaren A. Hiller. With bold colors, exquisite details, and a lavish motif, Hiller has captured the Roaring Twenties’ obsession with opulence and the East by portraying decadently costumed harem girls who are following in line behind a golden crocodile. The whimsical […]

Art Deco Egyptian Belly Dancers

Artist: Lejaren Hiller

An exceedingly scarce original mixed media work by L. Goddard used as a published calendar by The American Art Works Calendar Company, Coshocton Ohio in 1931 as Song of the Nile. “L. Goddard” was the pseudonym for a pair of enterprising artists L.G. Woolfenden, a successful Detroit area commercial photographer, and Rudolphe/ Rudolph Ingerle a Vienna born fine art landscape artist who lived and exhibited at museums and galleries in Chicago after the turn of the last century. Their collaborative efforts resulted in some of the finest and most spectacular images in the Calendar Art genre. The pair was known for fantasy-laden Depression-era escapist themes: Indian Maidens, Gypsies, Salomes, Art Deco Egyptian Beauties and Grecian Goddesses posed in vivid and evocotive Maxfield Parrish -esque dreamscapes.

Song of the Nile

Artist: L. Goddard

Grapefruit Moon Gallery is ecstatic to offer Sultana, the original Louis F. Dow commissioned calendar pin-up painting by Henry Clive. Created in 1925, Sultana is in all regards the artist’s signature and defining creation, featuring an exotic nearly nude dreamy enchantress in an Art Deco Egyptian fantasy dreamscape. This enchanting artwork is littered with sophisticated touches such as the Moorish architecture which glimmers behind Sultana as she releases a white dove. This timeless image was again issued in 1941 as a mutoscope card with the title Lucky Dove–a vintage calendar print and mutoscope card are included in the sale.

Sultana

Artist: Henry Clive

A large and important bustling published colorful gouache illustration painting by Willy Pogany for an interior story titled “Nero’s Temple On The Nile”, which appeared in the January 12, 1947 edition of Randolph Hearst’s American Weekly Magazine. An over the top opulant Egyptian themed costumed imagining of life in ancient Rome, which appeared with the […]

Nero’s Temple On The Nile

Artist: Willy Pogany

A large and technically adept colorful gouache illustration painting by Mario Cooper for an interior story titled “Secret Voice of The Desert Oracle“, which appeared in the August 13, 1950 edition of Randolph Hearst’s American Weekly Magazine. An over the top Egyptian themed costumed processional, which appeared in print with the following caption: “Cleopatra Probably […]

The Desert Oracle

Artist: Mario Cooper

Cleopatra is one of only two commissioned published calendar pin-up paintings created by Henry Clive for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company of Saint Paul Minnesota, the other work Sultana was previously sold by our gallery. Featuring an exotic nearly nude dreamy enchantress in an Art Deco Egyptian fantasy pyramid adorned dreamscape, this enchanting artwork […]

Cleopatra of the Nile

Artist: Henry Clive

An inspired and outrageous, entirely hand painted and created paper-mache decorative mask by Hannes Bok, this captures an exuberant, outlandish Art Deco Egyptian – Orientalist style. One of our favorite illustrators, Bok was born Wayne Woodard and grew up in Duluth Minnesota. As an adult, the artist carved out a meager living as an illustrator and “part time astrologer”. What we love most about Bok is his steadfast idealism and refusal to conform to the whims and rigors of publishing trends. Not surprisingly Bok died penniless in New York City. As today’s collectors and scholars unearth the lost history of the pulps the star of Hannes Bok burns brighter than at any time during his long and prolific career.

An Orientalist Avant-Garde Mask

Artist: Hannes Bok

In 1917, Theda Bara was the biggest draw for Fox studios, and a movie star whose popularity was surpassed only by Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. In this photograph by Albert Witzel, hand colored and printed she is seen posed in an early iteration of her Cleopatra headdress, with flowing deep black hair. Inscribed to Tom Mix, the cowboy superstar, who in 1917 had just joined Bara as a headlining performer for Fox studios, this came from Mix’s collection.

Theda Bara as Cleopatra

Artist: Albert Witzel

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