The Ice-Capades of 1942

View Similar Items

Marc-Luc - Two Boys (Art Deco Knickers Suit Bicycle riding Attire Fashion Illustration).

Silombria Marco - Advertising Graphic project for FIAT by Marco Silombria. Circa 1980

Keith Birdsong - Iron Dawn, Paperback Cover

Unknown - Two Women and an Automobile

Bob Peak - Motorsport Car Racing with Checkered Flag at Finish Line of a Race Track

Bob Peak - Art Deco Style Portrait of beautiful woman Painting

Christian Frederiksen - Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Wild Rose

Christian Frederiksen - Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Dandelion World

Christian Frederiksen - Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Beet Soup

Christian Frederiksen - Canadian Contemporary Art by Christian Frederiksen - Sick Party

Andrea Stajan-Ferkul - Nightie Night - 5"x9", Small Framed Artwork, White, Beige, Feminine

Devin Michael Roberts - Last Light

1 of 12

George Brown Petty IV
The Ice-Capades of 1942
1942

About the Item

This 1942 patriotic Petty Girl was the first of George Petty's iconic pin up illustrations commissioned by the Ice-Capades, then in its second season and soon to become a cultural institution. Developed by RKO as a theatrical extravaganza on ice and held at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the event was wildly popular and the souvenir programs became a huge part of the brand. Petty would go on to illustrate all 7 of the subsequent 1940s Ice-Capades programs, and his take on the leaping, beaming ice dancer became a large part of the promotion of the event. After parting ways with the show due to creative differences in the 1950s, Petty effectively came out of retirement to create 5 more covers for the show in the early 1960s. Illustration shows a pretty blonde Petty girl figure skater in a form-fitting and revealing little blue number with a star-adorned headdress. In 1942, Petty was already a star illustrator after a successful decade working in advertising and for Esquire magazine. The artist's signature creation The Petty Girl made her debut in the autumn of 1933 in a full-page cartoon accompanied by a snappy caption in Esquire magazine's inaugural issue. For the rest of the decade, she would appear every month, not only as a stand-alone feature in the magazine, but also in ongoing advertising campaigns for Jantzen Knitting Mills and Old Gold Cigarettes. By 1940, Petty had become a national celebrity. His relationship with Esquire had worn thin, however, and when they secured the services of Alberto Vargas a year later, he left the magazine - already having contributed a rich legacy to the history of pin-up art. His prominence only increased with his partnership with the Ice-Capades, to the extent that in 1950 Hollywood immortalized the artist in the film The Petty Girl based on the fictitious exploits of his long limbed pin-up creations with George Raft cast as Petty. Sight Size 13" x 17" Framed 22 3/4" x 26 3/4"

Creator:
George Brown Petty IV (1894 - 1975, American)
Creation Year:
1942
Dimensions:
Height: 26.75 in (67.95 cm)Width: 22.75 in (57.79 cm)
Medium:
Mixed Media,Illustration Board
Movement & Style:
Art Deco
Period:
1940-1949
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Minneapolis, MN
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU12221486263