Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
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 […]
Artist: Mario Cooper
This large and evocative interior illustration by Herbert Morton Stoops was commissioned by Cosmopolitan magazine to accompany a story titled “Swans Mate” which appeared in the September 1925 edition. The briskly composed Western frontier scene shows a wild west culture war where a citified young lady encounters a rugged cowboy on the edge of the frontier. The grizzled ranch hand is either amused or annoyed with the pert, […]
Artist: Herbert Morton Stoops
This Jean Oldham painting appeared as the cover for the April 1928 issue of The Dance magazine, showcasing the Spanish dancer and showgirl Trini in her costume from the Broadway hit “Take the Air.” The now-forgotten star shows off her opulent style and “famous feet” against a Moorish skyline in this art deco jewel of a painting. The Dance was a leading title during […]
Artist: Jean Oldham
A jovial, large format oil painting by Harold H.W. McCauley which appeared as the May 1955 cover of Imaginative Tales, a Greenleaf Publishing title. The image is a whimsical self-portrait, the artist appears as the 1950s everyman enjoying a night on the town after a hard day’s work. His wife sits atop his shoulders–a classic “Mac girl” pin-up bombshell getting […]
Artist: Harold McCauley
An action packed 1965 oil and tempura painting by Harry Schaare, that appeared as the cover of the Pyramid paperback Harlem Underground written by the author known as Ed Lacy. Lacy was a pseudonym for Leonard S. Zinberg who explored themes of racial prejudices and injustices throughout his fiction. In this work, Lee Hayes, a rookie policeman with youthful looks and […]
Artist: Harry Schaare
This tawdry and seductive original artwork was illustrated for use as the cover of the 1951 Cameo Books title The Loves of Alice Brandt, part of the publisher’s “love fiction” line. Cameo was an imprint of Detective House Publishers in New York which was a major producer of digest sized pulp novels during the period when this first appeared […]
Artist: Unidentified American Illustrator
An odd interior illustration by the prolific American illustrator Fredric Varady, this large scale painting accompanied a story titled “The Payoff” on page 45 of the April 1950 issue of an as-of-yet unidentified mainstream American magazine. This classic depiction of post-WWII co-eds takes the buttoned up wholesome style of Cold War Americana to an almost surreal extreme. The scene shows emotions […]
Artist: Fredric Varady
A rare surviving pastel by the prolific and inventive early pin-up artist James Ross Bryson. Bryson defined Art Nouveau feminine beauty with his Edwardian views of corseted and lavishly attired, erotic, and bold anti-Victorian maidens. A staff artist for the Thos. D Murphy calendar co., his work also appeared on postcards, advertisements, and magazine covers. Bryson’s strong use of color, and stylized depictions of feminine glamour were heavily influential on art deco pastel artists like Rolf Armstrong, Earl Moran and Zoe Mozert.
Artist: J. Ross Bryson
A pristine and important surviving Henry Clive illustration painting that appeared as the cover for the July 16, 1933 edition of The American Weekly, a Randolph Hearst publication. The magazine often commissioned Clive to create serialized images of enchantresses that shared a thematic thread. In this case, exotic maidens in the crossfire of cupid’s bow. Our […]
Artist: Henry Clive
Henry Hutt created this whimsical Victorian winter scene painting for publication in Century magazine. The image shows three demure maidens delighting in the gentle fall of snowflakes in an unexpected Christmas blizzard. The Chicago based illustrator was known at the turn of the 20th century for his trend-setting images “depicting the stylish, up-to-date female.” In 1908 Century compiled eighty of the artist’s most […]
Artist: Henry Hutt
