Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
A captivating, lustful, original cover painting by Victor Kalin created for use as cover art for the 1959 Dell paperback edition of the Scott Jordan mystery Murder on Broadway by Hal Masur. The work was titled The Last Gamble in its hardback incarnation, but the paperback title captures the lurid allure of the mystery of […]
Artist: Victor Kalin
Bold, large and provocative, a sensational scandalous paperback cover painting by Rudy Nappi which was created for use as the cover of French Alley by Matthew Clay. Part of the Star Novels series of digest sized paperbacks released by Publication House, NYC, this steamy novel follows the proclivities of three young attractive women who endure heartbreak and discover rapture […]
Artist: Rudy Nappi
With irreverent humor, this original oil-on-board painting shows a horned satyr smoking a pipe distracted from his reading by a nude figure in the foreground. Dating to 1929-1930, when Ovid’s Ars amatoria was in the news quite a bit, with the city of San Francisco’s ban of the Ars amatoria in 1929 and its legalization for […]
Artist: Gaspano "Gus" Ricca
A darling and very Art Deco in aesthetic portrait of Mary Brian, the silent and early talkie era Hollywood film star. We do not have the specific usage of this oil on masonite painting but it was likely created as a cover for a late 1920s Hollywood Movie Magazine by the artist, who worked prolifically for a number of titles during the period. The china doll imagery was one which Clive favored, as it plays on the coquettish doll like charms of the flappers of the period. The painting is signed lower right and handsomely framed in a period wide profile antique frame behind glass.
Artist: Henry Clive
A subversive youth gone wild party scene original cover painting by Peter Driben likely used for a paperback book title published by the Novel Library imprint. During the 1950s a hedonistic bohemian fictional sub-culture existed where teens smoked reefer and engaged in orgiastic exploits while becoming addicted to heroin. In showing these delinquents pursuing their darkest sinful desires, the illustrators of the day seemed to take great joy and this is a prime example of this sort of homage to debauchery.
Artist: Peter Driben
A whimsical art deco original gouache painting titled “La Coquette” by Alberto Vargas. An early work by the Peruvian born pin-up legend exploring the Commedia dell’arte revival that took hold around 1915, the cast of characters in this boldly colored and delightful Edwardian scene features the requisite maiden courted by a Harlequin with slapstick at his side as her guardian looks on in horror. Vargas brings a unique spin to this popular genre and his artistic mastery is apparent even at this early date. This was acquired by Charles Martignette in 1989 from the Vargas estate – the painting is accompanied by a series of Kodak color photographs (dated June 1989) taken by Martignette of this painting, also included are several color photographs of the artist and Martignette taken shortly before Vargas’ death in 1982.
Artist: Alberto Vargas
An impish winged cupid is the subject of this Edwardian Americana illustration by famed and prolific artist Orson Lowell. It appeared as the September 25, 1913 cover of Life Magazine’s Heart To Heart Number.
Artist: Orson Lowell
This originalartowrk by Cardwell Higgins shows a beautiful brunette pin up showgirl which appeared onthe May, 1937 issue of Modern Girl Book Magazine.
Artist: Cardwell Higgins
An early painting by beloved American illustrator James Montgomery Flagg which appeared on the cover of Sunday Magazine of the Minneapolis Journal.
Artist: James Montgomery Flagg
One of the finest Peter Driben pin-up girl cover illustrations to come on the market, for the December, 1948 edition of Beauty Parade.
Artist: Peter Driben
