Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

homoerotic

The Augsbrug Sailors is a dramatic, boldly rendered, surrealist and homoerotic World War II illustration by the renowned illustrator Karl Godwin. Best remembered for his longtime work as artist for Reader’s Digest and calendar illustration, Godwin was a versatile talent, as shown by this unusual, patriotic image of one semi-nude sailor defiantly eyeing the sky as he cares for his wounded brother in arms. Piece comes nicely matted and framed in a fine gold gesso period gallery frame.

The Augsburg Sailors

Artist: Karl Godwin
Price:  Sold

A large and bold, early 20th century patriotic German David and Goliath scene, by one of the defining “official” painters of the German empire and later, the Third Reich. This classically styled, expertly rendered scene features a highly eroticized nude David standing strong against the imposing Goliath force. This deeply allegorical mythical painting pronounces the vitality and virility of the German nation, a theme which dominated Nationalist German art throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, even as more abstract movements like German Sucessionism and the Jugendstihl gained prominence internationally.

David and Goliath

Artist: Arthur Kampf
Price:  S O L D

A genuinely magical illustration from the 1940 John C. Winston Co.’s publication of the Oscar Wilde classic The Happy Prince and Other Tales. This watercolor on board is a colorful and evocative rendering of the climactic scene from Wilde’s emotionally complex parable of Christian love. The illustration depicts the selfish giant gazing upon the boy who warmed his heart, as the boy bleeds from stigmata-like wounds. Everett Shinn was the youngest of a loosely associated group of New York-based social realist illustrators who were termed, by their critics, the Ashcan school, for their gritty style, often ugly depictions of humanity, and fixation on urban scenes. Shinn’s illustrators today are revered for the manner in which these themes are juxtaposed with gentle beauty.

The Selfish Giant

Artist: Everett Shinn
Price:  S O L D

 

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