Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
In this work, the first of the series, and the image that was to greet visitors as they entered the room, a nude showgirl dancer does a sad burlesque, her shadow duplicated in silhouette in a Coney Island funhouse style. Both evoking and critiquing the sordid and semi-underground world of Depression-era girlie shows, the artwork lures the viewer into the underbelly of the city that is explored in the nine images that follow.
Artist: Mahlon Blaine
From a recent east coast estate auction, Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to have acquired a previously unseen collection of American Impressionist oil paintings dating to the 1940s and executed in a WPA, Regionalist, and often times stark Ashcan School design aesthetic. These are the work of the important American photo-journalist Alfred Statler, who […]
Artist: Alfred Statler
A deftly rendered precise original gouache painting from 1937 used for a poster designed for a South Kensington, England Science Museum show. Signed Eileen McKinney on the verso and dated April 3, 1937. The work is entrenched with imagery inspired by the ongoing industrial revolution which was occurring throughout much of the world and captures the public’s fascination with the machine, science and industry as they were to intersect in what has become known as “The Machine Age”. The artist uses elements of Russian Constructivist poster design which emphasizes the particular material properties of an object added with it’s three dimensional spatial presence. This design aesthetic was very tied into Industry and Modernism and became harmonious with the graphics and imagery associated with The Machine Age.
Artist: Eileen McKinney
The WPA artist and art deco designer Vladimir Yoffe created this smart and modern machine age commercial illustration as advertising for Pan Am World Airways. The imagery shows a dizzying map of the earth highlighted by the routes the early commercial airline offered. Today, the Russian/American artist is best remembered for his work for the New Deal […]
Artist: Vladimir Yoffe
A dizzying, kinetic, brilliant large-scale fine art oil painting by the American artist and illustrator Theodore Haupt, signed in the lower right corner and dated 1929. This important surviving painting was created in Haupt’s signature modernist style combining elements of Cubism and Surrealism. Lyrical figures of swirling burlesque dancers depicted in lush harmony are juxtaposed with heavy […]
Artist: Theodore Haupt
The bustling post-war world of New York City – the exciting art scene, the sometimes grimy underbelly of street life, and even the everyday, seemingly mundane, daily activities of its residents – were what drew photojournalist and painter Alfred Statler back to his home city after an extended trip abroad to refine his artistic skills. […]
The rare surviving cover painting by Frank Paul for the May 1935 edition of Wonder Stories, a futuristic sci-fi pulp title published by Hugo Gernsback. A detailed machine age science minded scene illustrating the interior story “Human Ants” by J. Harvey Haggard. Pictured in this bustling scene is the flight of altruist […]
Artist: Frank Paul
Seen gamely climbing into a larger than life pipe threader in ballet slippers and skimpy pink apron, this redheaded Petty girl is an unlikely yet alluring gearhead. A published mixed media pin-up illustration by George Petty which appeared as a calendar for Ridgid Tools in September of 1952, as part of his […]
Artist: George Petty
From a recent east coast estate auction, Grapefruit Moon Gallery is delighted to have acquired a previously unseen collection of American Expressionist oil paintings dating to the 1940s and executed in a WPA, Regionalist, and often times stark Ashcan School design aesthetic. These are the work of the important American photo-journalist Alfred Statler, […]
Artist: Alfred Statler
An inventive stark modernist pin up mixed medium work by the Washington D.C. commercial artist and illustrator Russell Hill. The artist worked in gouache and airbrush to create sleek and unique images of the feminine form that found him much in demand in the advertising world of the 1940s. We have seen other examples […]
Artist: Russell Hill
