Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

Fritz Willis

A well-crafted, stylish, and eye-catching cover painting by the renowned pin-up calendar artist and commercial illustrator Fritz Willis. This was used as a cover for a Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies program in the early 1960s. In many regards Willis was the last of the great American pin-up artists; he brought pin-up imagery, poses and styles into the mod era and embraced changing ideals of femininity without being revisionist or nostalgic. In all regards, Willis shone in these yearly Ice Follies commissions as he excelled at costuming and seemed to enjoy capturing the evolving pop culture styles of the moment.

Ice Follies

Artist: Fritz Willis

    Wouldn’t You Like To Know… is a large sultry original published pin-up calendar painting by the prolific and important American artist Fritz Willis. Willis was the last true star pin-up artist of the old guard, when illustrative pin-up reigned supreme in men’s magazines and calendars. The artist worked during the very tail end of the […]

Wouldn’t You Like To Know…

Artist: Fritz Willis

A modernist, erotically charged, unconventional pin-up oil on canvas painting by Fritz Willis one of only several of the genre’s later-era stars. The model was the artist’s wife Pat, who frequently appeared in Willis’ work. The artist was unique in that he often painted in an openly erotic rather than coyly suggestive pin-up style, using props like opera gloves or silk stockings to highlight the allure of his models.

Erotic Nude in Opera Gloves

Artist: Fritz Willis

 

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