Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
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 […]
Artist: William Cotton
Price: Sold
This patriotic, morale boosting, WWII-era red, white and blue cover gouache illustration painting was the cover for the May, 2, 1942 edition of Liberty Magazine. The image depicts a curvy pin-up girl christening a ship as the nattily attired distinguished guests of the ceremony struggle to keep their eyes on the matter at hand. In a humorous nod […]
Artist: Stephen Ronay
Price: Sold
A World War II-era illustration painting for the Nehi brand ginger ale Par-T-Pak. An early soda sold in quart size bottles intended to be shared, in this case by a breezy pin-up girl and her handsome enlisted beau. The saucy, double entendré tagline reads Neat Treat In The Heat! and as the flirtatious glance suggests, things are indeed about […]
Artist: Frederick Sands Brunner
Price: SOLD
A wholesome, all-American advertising illustration, this gouache on board features the iconic Elsie the Cow. Named one of the Top 10 Advertising Icons of the Century by Ad Age in 2000, Elsie the Cow has been among the most recognizable product logos in the United States. In this ad campaign, Elsie and her […]
Artist: Walter Early (attrib).
Price: Sold
A haunting, iconic and important, large format painting by Cecil Calvert Beall created for an American World War II Army Air Forces poster titled Bomb’s Away!. The backing paper on this watercolor on board still houses the posed source photo, (likely taken by Beall himself) of his son Charles Beall, posed as a B-17G Flying Fortress […]
Artist: C.C. Beall
Price: Sold
An explosive, apocalyptic WWII battle scene rages in this lurid large format illustration painting by Bruce Minney which appeared as the cover for the October 1963 edition of For Men Only magazine. With its strong jawed GIs and busty damsels with dynamite, the cover slug line of “playgirls turned killers…” sexploitive narrative is on full display, […]
Artist: Bruce Minney
Price: Sold
A daring gang of female POWs rappel down a wall of a secret “Nazi Sex Stalag” atop the perilous heights provided by Germany’s notorious Liecht castle, with the help of the “G.I. master escaper” Sergeant Howard Lester. This tense and taut hyper dramatic interior illustration scene by Bruce Minney is a classic example of men’s […]
Artist: Bruce Minney
Price: Sold
A large original watercolor illustration by the prolific important American illustrator C. C. Beall. A dramatic scene of unknown usage of a fight on deck a sailing ship on the high seas.
Artist: C. C. Beall
Price: $1,950.00
In the rubble of a war-torn central square in what appears to be Cuba, a ravishing blonde in form fitting red sweater stands unscathed, and seemingly victorious. This unsigned gouache painting comes from a collection of works we recently acquired that date to the early years of Saga Magazine. Saga was a lurid Men’s title that thrived in the post-war pulp, low brow magazine market of the early 1950s. On the back of one of the pieces within the collection was a verso tag which read “attributed to Valigursky – For Saga Magazine 40’s – 50s.”
Artist: Ed Valigursky (attributed)
Price: S O L D
Andre Durenceau, the French-American illustrator and muralist, mines his Jewish heritage in this symbolist 1950s imagining of the sanctuary of a synagogue. Evoking horror and hope, this severe surrealist image presents a vision of resurrection in the aftermath of World War II. The oil on canvas is technically refined, and filled with historically resonant Judaica imagery from biblical to modern times. This piece, titled Invitation, has both the scope of mural art and the narrative detail of magazine illustration.
Artist: Andre Durenceau
Price: $6,375.00
