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Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

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political

A sophisticated, topical Orson Lowell pen & ink drawing featuring a Japanese soldier bowing before a mythically inspired goddess of death (named by Lowell Mortise, a play on the latin word for death) with the caption So Sorry – have made mistake. The age of this piece, which dates to the first years of the 20th century, makes this by all accounts a commentary on the massive casualties ensued during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, a war Japan won, but at a human price much too high.

The Spoils of War

Artist: Orson Lowell

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art
Tagged With: 1910s, allegorical, american, art nouveau, japanese, maiden, new york city, original interior illustration, Orson Lowell, political, spiritual
Added to Gallery: September 28, 2017

A haunting and menacing editorial political illustration by William Cotton, likely published in a late 1930s edition of Vanity Fair magazine. Pictured are the trio of Axis partners: Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito, with Hitler depicted as the larger and dominant evil force, strong-arming the other two dictators and controlling them as puppets. In […]

The Axis Partners

Artist: William Cotton

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: art deco, avant-garde, modernist, New Yorker, political, Vanity Fair, William Cotton, WWII
Added to Gallery: August 20, 2016

This jazz age artwork from the late fall of 1924 smartly blends Halloween season & boxing as a metaphor for the presidential election of that November. In this vibrant gouache, used as a cover for “The Brooklyn Eagle Sunday Magazine,” an Uncle Sam-inspired ring girl attempts to keep the peace between the two parties. This is a spirited roaring 20s time capsule.

A Political Halloween Party

Artist: Charles Verschuuren

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1920s, american, Brooklyn Eagle, Charles Verschuuren, flapper, halloween, holiday, jazz age, magazine cover, original cover art, political, satirical
Added to Gallery: September 29, 2008

An unusual pen & ink drawing by pre-eminent William Randolph Hearst illustrator Nell Brinkley. This intricately detailed 1932 illustration offers satirical social commentary on the deliterious effects the ongoing Great Depression was having on economic health around the world. In this lighter take on troubled times, three Brinkley Girls are depicted nursing the ailing globe back to health.

Political Great Depression Brinkley Girl Illustration

Artist: Nell Brinkley

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: 1930s, american, art nouveau, Brinkley Girl, cartoon, flapper, globe, Great Depression, jazz age, Nell Brinkley, original illustration art, political, Randolph Hearst, satirical
Added to Gallery: January 25, 2006

 

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