Marvin Hill Art

Framed Cuban Artist/Caricaturist Conrado Walter Massaguer presents Hollywood star Adolphe Menjou in a satirical dual portrait. In the foreground, the subject is seen in a dapper top hat, tux, fashionable cigarette and boutonnière, and is shown as being the epitome of being stylishly debonair. To make a larger point about this subject, Massaguer paints a cast shadow of Menjou as a burning red devil who studies his alter ego from above. Keeping with the artist's sarcasm, we see the good and bad in one image. Works by Massaguer are rare and this work is in keeping with his signature style. This work was most likely done on assignment for Life Magazine, Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker or Vanity Fair. Signed upper right. Inscribe lower right. Titled on verso. Unframed, Slight bend to board; toning to board; scattered faint foxing; pin point abrasions to margins, not affecting image. 19-1/2 x 15-1/8 inches board size. Conrado Walter Massaguer y Diaz was a Cuban artist, political satirist, and magazine publisher. He is considered a student of the Art Nouveau. He was the first caricaturist in the world to broadcast his art on television.He was first caricaturist to exhibit on Fifth Avenue. He was the first caricaturist in the world to exhibit his caricatures on wood. He, and his brother Oscar, were the first magazine publishers in the world to use photolithographic printing. Self portrait of Conrado Walter Massaguer, depicted on a carrousel ride, with the devil over his left shoulder and an angel over his right. (1945) He created the magazine Social with his brother Oscar to showcase Cuban artistic talent. The duo later created the magazine Carteles, which became for a period the most popular magazine in Cuba, which was purchased by Miguel Ángel Quevedo in 1953. In his life, he met and drew caricatures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, the King of Spain, and many others.[ In sum total, he was the author of more than 28 thousand caricatures and drawings.Ernest Hemingway once had to refrain himself from punching Massaguer in the face after the artist drew an unflattering caricature of him. The dictator Gerardo Machado, however, did not punch Massaguer for his own unflattering caricature - he had the artist deported. He was one of the most internationally renowned Cuban artists of his day, and his art is still regularly featured in galleries across the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Early life Massaguer was born on October 18, 1889, in Cárdenas, Cuba.[In 1892, his family moved to Havana. When the Cuban War of Independence broke out, Massaguer's family escaped the country. From 1896 to 1908, he lived in Mérida, Mexico. However, during this time, his parents enrolled him in the New York Military Academy, where he stayed during school years. In 1905, after graduating the military academy, he briefly attended the San Fernando school in Havana, where he was tutored by Ricardo de la Torriente and Leopoldo Romañach. In 1906, less than a year later, he returned to the family home in Mexico. Career as artist Early career While living in Yucatán, Mexico, Massaguer published his first caricatures in local newspapers and magazines. These included La Campana, La Arcadia, and the Diario Yucateco. In 1908, he moved back to Havana. After returning to the island in 1908, Massaguer began mingling with Havana's aristocratic circles, forming close friendships with some of the city's most powerful and influential men, as well as winning the favor of many women who were quickly charmed by him. Massaguer, largely self-taught, honed his style using the avant-garde techniques he studied from the European and American magazines that were widely available in Cuba at the time. Cover of the immensely popular Cuban magazine El Figaro, drawn by Massaguer in 1909. This cover depicts two bumbling, incompetent American tourists to the island. He started drawing for El Fígaro, and was featured prominently on the cover in 1909. After two years of refining his craft, Havana announced a poster contest aimed at attracting North American tourists to stay in the city during the winter months. Notable figures like Leopoldo Romañach, Armando Menocal, Rodríguez Morey, Jaime Valls, and others also entered the competition. The jury was particularly impressed by the modern execution and creative solution of one piece, signed by Massaguer, who was relatively unknown at the time. The jury deliberations caused a great controversy.[5] The prize was ultimately awarded to the Galician painter Mariano Miguel, who had recently married the daughter of Nicolás Rivero, the wealthy owner of the conservative newspaper Diario de la Marina. Although Massaguer received only an honorable mention, the fraud scandal caused such an uproar that his name quickly entered the public spotlight, and he became an overnight sensation. In 1910, he became co-owner of the advertising agency Mercurio, with Laureano Rodríguez Castells. At Mercurio, he led the Susini cigar campaign, and earned substantial wealth. Massaguer has been described as a restless man, in both mind and body.After earning enough money from his art to begin traveling, he was almost always doing so. He constantly traveled between New York City and Havana, Mexico and France, Europe and the Americas. In 1911, his reputation among the Havana socialites solidified when he organized his own first public caricature exhibit, and also the first Caricature Salon ever held in the Americas, hosted at Athenaeum of Havana (the Ateneo), and the Círculo de La Habana. Other exhibitors here included Maribona, Riverón, Portell Vilá, Valer, Botet, Barsó, García Cabrera, Carlos Fernández, Rafael Blanco, and Hamilton de Grau. "Messaguer Visits Broadway." Caricatures of theatrical and literary figures. Elsie Janis, Raymond Hitchcock, S. Jay Kaufman (columnist), Ibanez, author of The Four Horsemen, and Frances White In 1912, in the New York American Journal, he published his first Broadway drawings. From 1913 to 1918, he was an editor for Gráfico. Social Main article: Social (magazine) Cover of the magazine Social, July 7, 1923 In 1916, he created the magazine Social with his brother, Oscar H. Massaguer. Social's contributors included Guillén Carpentier, Chacón y Calvo, Enrique José Varona and others.Social has been described as Massaguer's great love in the magazine industry, and was the property that historians say he cared the most about. Social was an innovative magazine, being the first magazine in the world to use a modern printing process called photolithographic printing. Social set cultural trends, not only in the fashion of Cuba, but in art, politics, and Cuban identity.[11] Social catered to a certain aesthetic in Cuba - that of the sophisticated elite socialite - but Massaguer would also use this magazine to ridicule and jibe against that same class of society when he found their personalities worthy of his contempt. In Social, readers could find a variety of content, including short stories, avant-garde poetry, art reviews, philosophical essays, and serialized novels, as well as articles on interior design, haute couture, and fashion. Occasionally, the magazine also featured reports on sports such as motor racing, rowing, tennis, and horse riding.The cultural promotion efforts of both Massaguer and Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring are evident in the magazine. Notably, this period overlaps with their involvement in the Minorista Group, which was then at the forefront of the country's intellectual life.[5] Many contributors were devoted members of the group, leading some experts to consider Social as the cultural voice of the Minoristas. One of the features of Social magazine was its section called "Massa Girls," which was a play on his own name, and pronounced with a glottal 'g' in a similar fashion to the letter in Massaguer.[12] Massaguer drew women as independent and free-thinking, and never drew the woman celebrity as a caricature of herself, but as a free agent surrounded by caricatures.[11] However, Massaguer himself has been described as a womanizer in his personal life, and hesitant to fully embrace every facet of women's liberation. In 1916, he also established la Unión de Artes Gráficas and the advertising agency Kesevén Anuncios.[9] The art critic Bernardo González Barroa wrote: “Massaguer has solved the problem of working hard, living comfortably off what his art produces and not missing any artistic, sporting or social event. His broad, childish laugh, of a carefree individual who carries his luck hidden in a pocket, appears everywhere for the moment, disguising the pranks of pupils that lurk, mock and, finally, flash with satisfaction at finding the characteristic point after having analyzed a soul... Massaguer's personality is beginning to solidify now. He has been the best-known and most popular caricaturist for a long time, but his technique had not reached the security, the mastery of values that he presents in his latest works, which is very natural and explainable”[5] Carteles Main article: Carteles Cover of the magazine Carteles, November 29, 1931 In 1919, Massaguer and his brother created the magazine Carteles.[9] Carteles gained the widest circulation of any magazine in Latin America, and the most popular magazine in Cuba for a time, until that title was claimed by Revista Bohemia. Carteles remained in print until July 1960.This magazine showcased Cuban commerce, art, sports, and social life before the revolution. In 1924, Carteles took a more political turn, with articles criticizing Gerardo Machado's government. it became a prime example of the humor and graphic design employed by artists like Horacio Rodríguez Suria and Andrés García...

Signed lower right 'Nura' for Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899–1950). Titled, verso, 'Childhood', signed with artist's Paris address and dated 1926. This early twentieth-century...

Double-sided work Dated: 1951 recto; 1968 verso Signed on both sides Framed dimensions: 19 x 22 in Provenance: Robert Miller Gallery, NY New York Cheim & Read, NY New York Art Advi...

115 years after they were created, one can view these silhouettes differently than the artist’s intent. After all, the genesis of this work was an editorial illustration for Life Magazine to showcase elaborate women’s hats. They were done for a commercial assignment with a deadline, and picky editors were overseeing the final work. Today, they have a dual meaning. These charming silhouettes are abstractions as much as they are representations. Moreover, each one is a compact little gem stuffed with observational detail. Golden Age female illustrator Jesse Gillespie's mastery of technical skill, is apparent in minute details and composition. Young women, old women, pendants, necklaces, feathers, and laced vails all contribute to the works understated complexity. The identity of the subjects are revealed by small areas of exposed neck and chin. As the viewers eyes goes from left to right - all six silhouettes read as fashion hieroglyphs in a sentence with a visual rhythm and cadence. . Initialed JG lower right., Matted but not framed. Published: Life Magazine, March 17th, 1910. Provenance: Honey and Wax Bookstore ________________________________ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jessie Gillespie Willing (March 28, 1888 – August 1, 1972) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of illustration. She was considered the foremost silhouette illustrator of her time, although she did traditional illustration as well. Willing illustrated for books and magazines including Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Mother and Child, McClure's Magazine, Childhood Education, the Sunday Magazine, Association Men (the magazine of the YMCA), Farm and Fireside, Every Week, Children: The Magazine for Parents (which became Parents Magazine), and the American Magazine. She is perhaps most well known for her work for the Girl Scouts. Early life Willing was born in Brooklyn on March 28, 1888 to John Thomson Willing (August 4, 1860 – July 8, 1947)[1][2] and Charlotte Elizabeth Van Der Veer Willing (December 1, 1859 – March 4, 1930).[3] Thomson Willing was a noted illustrator and art editor. He was also well known for finding new artistic talent. Jessie Willing was the eldest of three children. Her brother Van Der Veer (November 30, 1889 – January 14, 1919), who died of pneumonia at the age of 29, was an advertising agent.[4] Her sister Elizabeth Hunnewell Willing (July 26, 1908 – August 15, 1991) was one of the first women to graduate from the Philadelphia Divinity School.[5][6] Elizabeth married the Rev. Orrin Judd, rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, on September 22, 1931, and was active in church work.[citation needed] The Willing family moved to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia in 1901 or 1902. Jessie Willing attended the Stevens School, from which she graduated in 1905. She then went on to attend the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts from 1906 to 1907.[7][8] Career Willing used her middle name Gillespie as her professional surname. She also often signed her illustrations J.G.[9] The story goes that the art editor of Life magazine was in Thomson Willing's office when he was the art editor of the Associated Sunday Magazine syndicate. Thomson Willing had some of Jessie's artwork on his desk, which the Life editor saw and admired. He asked for the artist's information so that he could give her freelance work. Thomson Willing did not want to be accused of nepotism so he persuaded Jessie to use Jessie Gillespie as her professional name, which she did.[10][11] In addition to her extensive illustration work, Willing was also the editor of Heirlooms and Masterpieces from 1922 to 1931 and the art editor of Jewelers' Circular-Keystone from 1933 to 1939.[12] She specialized in jewelry publicity and advertising. In 1966 she won the Gold medal of the Printing Week Graphic Arts Exhibit in Philadelphia for her Christmas catalog for J.E. Caldwell Co., Philadelphia. Willing was a member of the Plastic Club of Philadelphia,[13] the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the National Arts Club of New York.[14] She was an honorary life member of the National Arts Club[15] and served on its Board of Governors from 1941-1970. In 1963, she received the Gold Medal of the National Arts Club in recognition of 32 years of selfless devotion.[15] Additionally, she was the national director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1943 to 1946.[15] Previous to this she served as the Program Chairman of the AIGA and in that position she put together a travelling exhibit on the "history of narrative art from the first recorded picture story to the comic book of the twentieth century."[16][17] Illustrations in books With Tongue and Pen--Frederick Bair, et al. (MacMillan, 1940) Masoud the Bedouin--Alfred Post Carhart (Missionary Education Movement, 1915) The Path of the Gopatis--Zilpha Carruthers (National Dairy Council, 1926) The Schoolmaster and His Son: A Narrative of the Thirty Years War--Karl Heinrich Caspari (Lutheran Publication Society, 1917) On a Rainy Day--Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Sarah Scott Fisher (A.S. Barnes and Co., 1938) Book of Games for Home, School and Playground--William B. Forbush and Harry R Allen...

This pen and ink from 1920 depicts a Greek mythological scene with a Satyr companioning Pan, who plays the flute to an interested woodland deer. It is rendered in minute detail with...

America's greatest female illustrator draws a heartwarming picture of a mother putting to bed her child. Motherly love towards their children is the artist's most iconic theme. This ...

A group of sexy Polynesian male and female dancers is depicted with expressive and sensual body gestures. The rhythmic fluidity of each dancer is transferred to their partners, unit...

E. Simms Campbell was the first African-American illustrator/ cartoonist published in nationally distributed, slick magazines, he created Esky, the familiar pop-eyed mascot of Esquire. This early work of 1930 was done on assignment for an interior page of Life Magazine. It features two Rowing teams engaged in spirited competition with cheering onlookers. This is a highly stylized black-and-white illustration and is masterfully executed. The work is composed of two illustrations, 6 x 9 inches and 2-3/4 x 2 inches respectively. It is initialed center bottow ESC. unframed Campbell left the University of Chicago and transferred to and received his degree from the Chicago Art Institute.[3] Professional career During a job as a railroad dining-car waiter, Campbell sometimes drew caricatures of the train passengers, and one of those, impressed by Campbell's talent, gave him a job in a St. Louis art studio, Triad Studios. He spent two years at Triad Studios before moving to New York City in 1929. A month afterward, he found work with the small advertising firm, Munig Studios, and began taking classes at the National Academy of Design.During this time, he contributed to various magazines, notably Life, & Judge Following the suggestion of cartoonist Russell Patterson to focus on good girl art, Campbell created his "Harem Girls", a series of watercolor cartoons that attracted attention in the first issue of Esquire, debuting in 1933. Campbell's artwork was in almost every issue of Esquire from 1933 to 1958 and he was the creator of its continuing mascot, the cartoon character in a silk top hat. He also contributed to The Chicagoan, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, The New Yorker, Playboy, Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, Pictorial Review, and Redbook. His commercial artwork for advertising included illustrations for Barbasol, Springmaid, and Hart Schaffner...

Aerostatic Ball is beautiful artwork in China ink and pencil applied on cardboard realized by the artist Luis Vallet (1856-1940) Hand-signed on the lower right. Titled in French" Le...

"Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" is one of Al Jaffee's signature series. This work was a double-page work that appeared on pages 60 - 61 in Mad Magazine in 1968. Although this w...

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot," Joni Mitchell said. - - Created in 1969, at the dawn of the American environmental movement, artist Richard Erdoes draws a sequential narrative in the form of a coil. From inception to destruction, it illustrates a list of things that humans are doing to destroy the world we live in. The work was commissioned for school-age humans and executed in a whimsically comic way. Yet the underlying narrative is sophisticated and foreshadows a world that could be on the brink of ecological disaster. Graphically and conceptually, this work exhibits an endless amount of creativity and Erdoes cartoony style is one to fall in love with. Signed lower right. Unframed 12.4 inches Width: 12.85 inches Height is the live area. Board is 16x22 inches. Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt,to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Richárd Erdős Sr., was a Jewish Hungarian opera singer who had died a few weeks earlier in Budapest on June 9, 1912.After his birth, his mother lived with her sister, the Viennese actress Leopoldine ("Poldi") Sangora,He described himself as "equal parts Austrian, Hungarian and German, as well as equal parts Catholic, Protestant and Jew..."[4] Career He was a student at the Berlin Academy of Art in 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power. He was involved in a small underground paper where he published anti-Hitler political cartoons which attracted the attention of the Nazi regime. He fled Germany with a price on his head. Back in Vienna, he continued his training at the Kunstgewerbeschule, now the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.[5] He also wrote and illustrated children's books and worked as a caricaturist for Tag and Stunde, anti-Nazi newspapers. After the Anschluss of Austria in 1938 he fled again, first to Paris, where he studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, and then London, England before journeying to the United States. He married his first wife, fellow artist Elsie Schulhof (d. xxxx) in London, shortly before their arrival in New York City. In New York City, Erdoes enjoyed a long career as a commercial artist, and was known for his highly detailed, whimsical drawings. He created illustrations for such magazines as Stage, Fortune, Pageant, Gourmet, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Time, National Geographic and Life Magazine, where he met his second wife, Jean Sternbergh (d. 1995) who was an art director there. The couple married in 1951 and had three children.[6] Erdoes also illustrated many children's books. An assignment for Life in 1967 took Erdoes to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the first time, and marked the beginning of the work for which he would be best known. Erdoes was fascinated by Native American culture, outraged at the conditions on the reservation and deeply moved by the Civil Rights Movement that was raging at the time. He wrote histories, collections of Native American stories...

Medium: Pen and Ink on Illustration Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Caricature by George Wachsteter (1911-2004), of British Comedy Duo and Mellifluos Singers Bud Flanagan & Ches...