1920s Figurative Paintings

One of Cornwell's hallmarks is that he paints stoically soulful faces that express the subject's trials and hardships. In this only-woman composition, he depicts a scene of two women who are strong, unafraid, and self-confident and can weather the storm despite the challenges. In this regard, it is similar to "A Strange Sound Drifted Down to Kit from the Top of the Range—A Man’s Voice, Singing" by Cornwell, which sold at Christie's USD $163,800 on 18 Apr 2024. Caption: "Are you making little things?" questioned Lucy. 'No ,' said Marge. 'If this one happens to live, there will be many long years ahead of us for that." Morris Weiss collection...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned Advertisement, Cream of Wheat, 1929.

Hearts Unreasoning, by Sarah Bernhardt The First of Six Romances of the French Stage - McCall’s Magazine December 1920 interior illustration. The work is related to Shinn's fam...

Signature: Signed Lower Left Dimensions: 40.25" x 30.00;" Framed Dimensions: 49.25" x 39.25" The Pictorial Review interior illustration, August 1925-January 1926

Signature: Signed Lower Right Illustration for "The Number One Boy" by John Taintor Foote, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post for May 20th, 1922. Caption: "It will be hard to m...

Original Cream Of Wheat Advertisement Illustration for Saturday Evening Post's May 5th issue, 1920. Oil on canvas. Ex: Kraft Food Collection / Mort...

Story illustration for “The Exquisite Perdita” by E. Barrington for Cosmopolitan, published January 1926, pages 16-17. The full caption reads: “Lord Malden was dazzled. Little did P...

Signature: Initialed “G.H”

Medium: Oil Painting Signature: Signed Lower Left Satuday Evening Post Cover, May 30, 1925.

Medium: Oil and Gold Paint on Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 19.00" x 16.00" Oval, Framed 24.00" x 21.00" April. 1920 Good Houseke...

Signed and dated 1924 upper right Simplified forms, geometricized volumes and restricted color palette characterizes this work. Zabriskie Gallery Label on verso Original period frame Kenneth Hayes Miller taught at the Art Students League from 1911 until 1951. Some of his students were: Reginald Marsh, George Bellows, George Tooker, Rockwell Kent, Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Patrick Henry Bruce

A charming portrait of a beautiful blue-eyed girl in a pink dress holding flowers in her hand. It's based on Renaissance portraits where the subject is pushed to the foreground and i...

Provenance: Illustration House, New York, Framed in a simple and modest frame. This is a brilliant post-Cubist work by Dutch-American illustrator Charles Verschuuren...

Magazine Story Illustration most likely for Cosmopolitan or Woman's Home Companion. Caption: "'I will not heed these old ones,' said the maid. 'Let us flee together somewhere and ...

Date: 1920s Medium: Oil on Canvas Sight Size 20.00" x 16.00", Framed 24.00" x 20.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right

Date: 1929 Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed and Dated Lower Left Dimensions: 30.00" x 19.00" Study for "Find the Woman" (Cosmopolitan Magazine) Artist biographical not...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published October 2, 1926 Sandy glowers as he sits at the table watching his rival Babe Dolan, the athletic lifeguard, flirt with Lil. Lil is entranced as Babe promises to make her a champion swimmer and the two are oblivious to the arrival of the waiter with the check, which Sandy reluctantly pays with nearly all of the remaining money in his wallet. (Liberty magazine, October 2, 1926, p. 54) This cover illustration was produced right after Liberty ceased their title contest for readers. “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Date: 1926 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 20.00" x 16.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Liberty magazine cover, November 6, 1926

Provenance: Illustration House, New York, Framed in a simple and modest metal frame. This is a brillant post-Cubist work by Dutch-American illustrator Charles Verschuuren...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed on the Back

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 7, 1926 Robert (Pop) Morse returns home from his work at the real estate office after the successful sale of a corner lot on Ma...

Date: 1920 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 24.00" x 30.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right 1920 Cosmopolitan - page 63 of cornwell book Nicknamed "The Dean of Illustrators" by his peers. A cartoonist at 18 for Louisville Herald. By 1911 he was in the Chicago Tribune's Art department while studying at the city's Art Institute. In 1915, a student of Harvey Dunn, he in turn taught artists and developed talents for a generation. Oils for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, True, American Weekly, Life, Good Housekeeping. Book art for Man from Galilee and others. Ad contracts for GM, Eastern, Pennsylvania Railroad, Paul Jones Whiskey, Aunt Jemima...

Mabel Rollins Harris was among other things an illustrator who specialized Children's art. Looking at her work today her pictures take on an almost surreal quality. She posed ...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 28.00" x 24.00;" Framed 36.00" x 31.00" Collier's Magazine Cover,Christmas Edition, December 24th 1921

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed on the Back Woman Seated, Likely Magazine Cover

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 26, 1929. After the passing of Sandy’s Great-Uncle Ulysses, Sandy and Lil walk around the cluttered brownstone mansion he left...

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed and inscribed LRC Country Gentleman Cover illustration for April 1 1929. Gift to artist Harold Von Schmidt. Harold Von Schmidt (May 19, 1893 ...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right The Boys of Today Are the Men of Tomorrow, Cream of Wheat Advertisement, 1926.

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned "'I love you both,' she faltered. 'I can't, I just can't think of marrying one of you for the sadness of losing the other.'" Illustration f...

“Choosing the Love Nest: Lil and Sandy Find a Cozy Spot for Their Bungalow of Dreams,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published June 18, 1927 Lil and Sa...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 17, 1929. Lil calls Sandy down to a nice breakfast to be served in her new fruit dishes, as she asks Sandy to bring her purse and materials to fix the carpet runner, which he forgets. Lil is horrified to find her sideboard key in baby Ulysses’ mouth and she proceeds to feed the baby while asking Sandy to give her updates on a recent triple suicide outlined in the newspaper. Ulysses pounds his cereal spoon, sending sprays of milk across the table onto Sandy’s elbow and Lil’s new fifty-dollar negligee. (Liberty magazine, August 17, 1929, p. 38) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Everett Lloyd Bryant American, 1864-1945 Woman in Kimono Oil on canvas Signed lower right 30 by 25 in. W/frame 35 by 30 in. Everett studied wit...

Used as Advertisement in the Saturday evening Post Signed Lower Right

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published November 2, 1929. Sandy hides behind the newspaper at the breakfast table as Lil suddenly asks “Who is Marianthe? You talked about her...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned “She Needs You So!” Magazine advertisement: Cream of Wheat hot cereal, 1927;

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published August 31, 1929. Sandy takes Lil and baby Ulysses out for a day on the lake at the crowded Lakeside Bathing Casino. Sandy pulls out a ...

Story illustration for “The Flower of the Flock” by Jay Gelzer for Cosmopolitan, published August 1921, pages 74-75 The Post describes the tale as “The story of a Kentucky mountain...

Date: 1924 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 26.00" x 24.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left, Dated Verso, '24

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 22, 1927. Blissful in her recent engagement to Sandy, Lil spends an evening at home knitting him a pair of green zigzag sport ...

“And Why Not?: Lil and Sandy Warm Up Their Imagination,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 7, 1928 As Mr. and Mrs. Morse leave for a date night at the local lodge, Lil and Sandy spend an evening in front of the fireplace at the Morse home. Sandy turns on sentimental music, gathers marshmallows and a toasting fork, and lights the logs in his father-in-law’s fireplace. The fireplace’s golden glow becomes a picture frame for the couple’s dreams of their future son. Sandy excitedly imagines their baby going to college and being the “head of every class, scholarships galore, and captain of basketball, hockey, crew, and football.” Little Sandy is also imagined to be a brave soldier and even serve as future president of the United States. “Dreams of their son…red embers on the hearth…Their fireplace fantasy!” (Liberty magazine, April 7, 1928) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

“The Doctor Calls: Spending the Morning with Lil’s Oldest Friend,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published May 5, 1928 Dr. Howard, the Morse family doctor, is caught in traff...

Date: 1922 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 26.00" x 15.00" Signature: Signed Lower Center Advertisement for Cream of Wheat cereal. Image of woman seated in chair...

Study for the February 1929 issue of People’s Popular Monthly magazine. A woman and two men in historical costume with a heart behind them. Medium: Gouache on Board with collaged l...

Date: 1923 Medium: Oil on Panel Dimensions: 24.00" x 36.00"

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 24, 1926 Sandy, Lil, and their friends gather on the front porch of the Morse home to sing. They began in the late afternoon, but...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Upper Left "Dan Content 29" Story Illustration, Good Housekeeping Magazine, September 1929, pg 32-33 Biography: Daniel Content was born of Dutch parents and grew up in New York City. He attended New Eutriek High School in Brooklyn, NY. He studied under Dean Cornwell at the Pratt Institute as well as attending the Art Students League. Mr. Content worked as a freelance artist for about thirty years. He illustrated for such magazines as Colliers, Cosmopolitan, Readers Digest, and McCall's. In 1928 he illustrated the Windermere Series printing of Robin Hood. During World War II he traveled with the USO to Burma and India entertaining the service men with personal sketches. In the late 1950s he was an Art Director for Benton & Bowles in NYC. He also taught at the workshop School of Advertising Art. Mr. Content continued his sculpting and painting long after retirement. Some of his work can be found at Society of Illustrators in their permanent Museum. Exhibited: Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His Students South Dakota Art...

Medium: Oil on Canvas on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left Elks Magazine Cover, November 1927 Provenance: From the Estate of Charles Martignette

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Cover Illustration: March 5, 1921 of The Country Gentleman.

Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left October 1929 American Boy Magazine Cover Magazine Included

“The Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy: Breathing Out Envy, It Swoops Down upon Sandy,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 9, 1927. Sandy is feeling gloomy while reme...

The Elks Magazine Cover, Feb 1926 Signed Lower Right

“Crashing the Gate: Sandy Paves the Way to His Big Business Scoop,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published March 10, 1928 Sandy confidently struts down the street, dapperly ...

“Honeymooning at Greenville: Lil and Sandy Continue Their Scenic Trip,” original cover for Liberty magazine, published July 23, 1927 Sandy and Lil are on their honeymoon, which after an expensive stay at a mosquito-inhabited resort in Greenville, has not been going particularly well. Their disappointing fishing trip left them with more fly bites than fish bites. The newlyweds were eager to board the train, settle in to their sleeping car, and journey to their next destination. When Sandy attempts to bring Lil the glass of water she requested, the train suddenly jerks and ice water spills on a sleeping gentleman in the next berth. “‘Oh! Oh!’ Lil gasped, a witness to her husband’s social blunder. And she wished she were deaf!” (Liberty magazine, July 23, 1927, p. 45) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine cover...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published December 11, 1926 Sandy called on Lil one evening, only to find that his suspicions were true – Mr. Hammerschlosser, the aging and wea...

Original cover for Liberty magazine, published April 13, 1929. The opera is in town for one night only, making it the social event of the season. Sandy and Lil sit in their box seats, gazing at the less elite audience members in the orchestra and haughtily critiquing the wardrobe choices of other wealthy socialites. The couple excitedly watches as the Opera begins, and eagerly await the gathering in their home after the performance, to which they have invited the star, Paltrianni. Upon his arrival at the Jenkins’ home, Paltrianni comments on how extravagantly the couple lives. However, much to Lil’s horror, there was no lavish banquet awaiting them, for the butler Meadows was found drunkenly passed out on a chair next to the empty dining room. (Liberty magazine, April 13, 1929, p. 68) “For the Love o’ Lil: The Picture Story of an American Family” In 1926, under his long-term contract to produce a cover per week for Liberty magazine, Leslie Thrasher introduced a signature cast of characters that appeared each week, telling a serialized story through his illustrations. Liberty touted its new cover serial as “something no magazine has ever done before…Heretofore, all magazine covers have been disconnected pictures.” To help readers follow the plot from week to week, a short story summary was printed in each issue. (Liberty magazine, June 19, 1926, pp. 69-70). “For the Love o’ Lil” centers around the lives of Lil Morse and Sandy Jenkins and includes recurring characters from their extended family and social circles. The serial follows the couples’ adventures through courtship, the ups and downs of married life, the antics of their offspring with the neighborhood children, and the complex dynamics of relationships with in-laws. The goal was to show a typical modern American family whose eccentricities and foibles would attract readers each week. Thrasher used himself as the model for Lil’s father, Robert E. Lee Morse. Liberty further engaged readers by running contests for best titles, and later, for suggested storylines. The model proved successful and “For the Love o’ Lil” became a popular hallmark of the publication for many years, resulting in a 1930 film adaptation starring the flapper Sally Starr. Leslie Thrasher Leslie Thrasher first began contributing covers to Liberty in 1924, and in 1926 he was offered a contract to create a cover per week at the rate of $1,000 per week. Going against the advice of his friend Norman Rockwell, Thrasher accepted the contract, agreeing to complete a weekly cover for six years - an immensely challenging endeavor requiring that both new ideas and new artwork be produced at an extremely rapid pace. The continuing storyline of the cover serial “For the Love o’ Lil” helped Thrasher keep up with the constant demand for new images. Due to declining circulation, Liberty terminated Thrasher’s contract in 1932. A few years later in 1936, Thrasher died from pneumonia caused by smoke inhalation from a fire in his home, which also destroyed much of his original artwork. An incredibly prolific artist, Thrasher had created more than 360 covers in his lifetime for various publications, including 23 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Leslie Thrasher was born in Piedmont, West Virginia. He studied art at the Philadelphia Academy and at the age of 16, won a scholarship that allowed him to study in Paris. Upon his return to the United States, Thrasher studied with Howard Pyle in Wilmington, Delaware and briefly worked as a portrait painter before moving to New York City to begin his commercial career producing illustration for magazines and advertising agencies. Thrasher also served in World War I, where he was assigned work as a camouflage painter. Date: 1929 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 20.00" x 16.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Liberty Magazine Cover, 4/13/29 "Opera Night"

Date: 1921 Medium: Gouache on Board Dimensions: 20.75" x 17.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right (Monogram)

Date: 1927 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 27.00" x 18.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right "We Amused Ourselves for an Hour or More, Darting in and out Among the Crowd and Setting off our Crackers", The Story of a Bad Boy...