Mid-20th Century Drawings

Original Illustration Map of Syria and Lebanon by Charles Burki, 1947 – Ink Drawing Original 1947 pen-and-ink illustration of “Syrie en de Libanon” (Syria and Lebanon) by Dutch arti...

Nice original watercolor of a footbridge over a pond in Central Park NYC. Skyscrapers of the day in the background. In excellent vintage condition with minimal wear, needs a new mat....

Rare very early watercolor by this famous 'Washington D.C. Colorist'(from the group of Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland and Gene Davis), signed and dated L.L. 1958. Matted and framed in ...

The Accident – Original Noir Illustration by Charles Burki, 1964 This dramatic original illustration by Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed and dated 1964, captures a moment of chilli...

Wonderful ink and wash by Pat Kerr, 1946. So evocative of the 1940s. On card. Unsigned. Presented in an antique water gilded frame Drawn for A & C Kay, New Bond St. Lond...

Decorative drawing of Swiss alp

Although both sides of this drawing show male figures from different viewpoints, indicating Paul Goadby Stone's use of the paper to think out his ideas and capture the moment, each i...

This strong and confident drawing of a standing male nude was made by Allyn Cox, probably for one of an array of murals he painted in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, starting with an series of paintings for the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library at UCLA in 1925. Son of Kenyon Cox...

John Carroll (1892-1959) Kansas City, KS. Performers Back Stage, Circa 1944, Chin de Colle/Lithograph, Edition 44/2 signed lower right and twice framed. Great condition. Image size 1...

A spiritual modern etching with hand coloring on Arches wove paper titled “David Montant La Colline des Oliviers (David Ascending The Mount of Olives)” (pl. 71 from The Bible Series)...

Original Illustration of a Viking Longship by Charles Burki, 1963 – Gouache and Ink Drawing Original gouache and ink illustration of a Viking longship under sail, signed and dated “...

White Bunny Drawing by Oleg Cassini for Playboy October 1979, Signed. Illustration of a woman wearing a white body suit, choker, and hat. Signed by Oleg Cassini. Notice the body suit is in the shape of the head of a bunny with clever use of the 'whiskers'. Approximate Measurements: Length: 11" Width: 14" Property from the Collection of Steven Rosengard, Chicago, Illinois This original drawing was commissioned by Playboy and included in the October 1979 issue of Playboy Magazine (pages 225-227) in a feature that included works from designers such as Bill Blass, Oleg Cassini, Edith Head, Fernando Sanchez, and Monika Tilley, among others, who create their versions of the Playboy bunny costume. Candace Collins can be seen modeling some of the designs in the feature. Oleg Cassini is an icon of twentieth-century fashion. Though born to Russian aristocracy and raised in Italy, he built a fashion empire that was unmistakably American. Cassini is perhaps best known for the hundreds of designs he created for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (see images 4-8), but his achievements as a collector, connoisseur, and quintessential twentieth-century man go far beyond Camelot. In 1913, Oleg Cassini was born in Paris to the Russian diplomat Count Alexander Loiewski and Countess Marguerite Cassini, a Russian aristocrat of Italian ancestry who also had an interesting link to America. The daughter of Count Arthur Cassini, Russian Ambassador to the United States during the McKinley and Roosevelt administrations, Marguerite dazzled turn-of-the-century Washington as her father’s official hostess and left her mark on the capital city. Stationed in Denmark when the Russian Revolution toppled the czar, Ambassador Cassini and family were exiled to Switzerland before settling in Florence, Italy, where young Oleg was raised. A true Renaissance man, he spoke Russian, French, and Danish before adding Italian and English; he studied medieval and modern European military history and costume and learned to draw; he learned horseback riding, fencing, and the art of chivalry; and, most importantly, he came to understand the struggles of the Russian titled class and other European aristocrats in the wake of the Russian Revolution and World War I. Countess Cassini started a successful fashion business in Florence, and soon the talented young Oleg was sent to Paris to sketch the latest collections for recreation in Italy. In Rome in his early 20s, Cassini created fashions for high society women and designed for a few films, which planted the seed for his move to Hollywood. The drive to reinvent himself brought Cassini to America in the 1930s; in his autobiography he describes arriving nearly penniless in mid-Depression New York City where his title as an exiled Russian Count meant even less than in war-devastated Europe. Down and out, Cassini struggled for employment, having sketching skills but no knowledge of the wholesale trade required for survival in Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue fashion district. However, he excelled at making connections, and Cassini slowly entered New York society. He was soon joined by younger brother Igor (who had studied in America and travelled with the young Emilio Pucci) and his parents, the once-dazzling Countess and his father, the displaced diplomat still loyal to Russia. The family settled in Washington, D.C., and Igor worked his way up the Hearst newspaper chain to become the famous society columnist Cholly Knickerbocker. In New York, Oleg Cassini married the troubled socialite Merry Fahrney (who would go on to marry eight times), but the marriage ended in scandal for Oleg, and he decided to follow his original intention and head for Hollywood. Despite initial difficulties, Cassini gained access to Hollywood’s elite (partially through his skills on the tennis court), and was soon hired as a designer at Paramount Pictures alongside the redoubtable Edith Head. In her 1941 film debut I Wanted Wings, Veronica Lake wore a memorable Cassini design. That same year, Cassini met and married the newest young Hollywood star on the scene, the beautiful 20th Century Fox–talent Gene Tierney. With the outbreak of World War II, Cassini enlisted in the Coast Guard but was transferred to the U.S. Army Cavalry which allowed officers of foreign birth. He attended basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and the horsemanship he learned as a boy served him greatly. He attended Officer Candidate School and reached the rank of First Lieutenant (he also became an American citizen at this time, losing his title of Count). Cassini spent several years posted at Fort Riley, where Tierney joined him before he landed a convenient military post in Hollywood. As Tierney’s career thrived (she played the title role in Otto Preminger’s Laura in 1944), she was able to assert her influence over 20th Century Fox’s head Daryl Zanuck, who hired Cassini as designer for Tierney on her 1946 film The Razor’s Edge, which proved to be a brilliant showcase for his talents. The pair separated the same year and, again seeking reinvention, Cassini re-established himself in New York City as a fashion designer. By 1950, the Oleg Cassini label was born. Combining his knowledge of Old World and modern Europe, Hollywood, the tennis courts of Palm Beach and Newport, and of course, New York City, Oleg Cassini invented a new brand of fashion that was distinctly American and of its moment. For his first collection, Cassini took to the stage, narrating the looks and imbuing the scene with his personality, unusual in an industry where the designers typically remained backstage and the models were called by number over a PA. The first collection was a smash — the president of Lord & Taylor devoted all of their storefront windows to his designs — and by 1955 sales had reached $5,000,000. Oleg Cassini’s career had turned a very positive corner. Cassini spent the early 1950s traversing the country, personally selling his collections to department stores in the interior, something his predecessors had never done, and moving between the Hollywood and New York scenes. Cassini’s brother Igor coined the term “the Jet Set” for this generation that constantly flew from New York to Los Angeles (then a ten-hour flight), Las Vegas, Paris, Rome, and the Riviera. In 1954, Cassini set out to woo Grace Kelly and sent her roses every day. The two were briefly engaged before her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. In December 1960, Cassini’s career-defining opportunity came when he was chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy to design her fashions for the White House. Cassini had long known Joe Kennedy and his war-hero son John, and had first met Jacqueline Bouvier before her marriage in the early 1950s. Invited by President-Elect Kennedy to meet Jacqueline at Georgetown Hospital (she had just given birth to son John Jr.) to present to her drawings of potential dresses and First Lady looks, Cassini worked furiously to prepare a new line for the First Lady. Mrs. Kennedy had always had her clothes made by the top French couturiers of the day, but for the White House she wanted an American designer. Cassini wrote in his autobiography that he told the First Lady: “‘You have an opportunity here,’ I said, ‘for an American Versailles.’ She understood completely what I was trying to communicate; she began to talk excitedly about the need to create an entirely new atmosphere at the White House. She wanted it to become the social and intellectual capital of the nation” (Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion, 1987, p. 327). Mrs. Kennedy loved Cassini’s design for a gown to wear to the Inaugural Gala (she had already ordered a dress from Bergdorf’s for the Inaugural Ball), and Cassini was selected as the First Lady’s designer and was soon dubbed the “Secretary of Style.” From 1960 to 1963, Oleg Cassini would design over 300 items for Mrs. Kennedy, creating the “Jackie Look” that contributed not only to a fashion revolution but also the dawn of a new age. Cassini wrote that “Jackie played a very active role in the selection of her clothes. She loved brilliant colors — pistachio, hot pink, yellow, and white among others. Her sense of style was very precise; she would make editorial comments on the sketches I sent her. She always knew exactly what she wanted; her taste was excellent” (Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion, 1987, p. 334). After the Camelot years, Cassini’s business flourished and grew into a major industry; his name appeared on everything from couture to tennis-, sport-, and swimwear, car interiors, housewares, and perfume. He collected beautiful and rare artwork, arms and armor, and antique furniture, and lived the lifestyle projected by his image. From this period onward, Cassini also came to live in important homes. Of his Gothic Gramercy Park townhouse on Manhattan’s 19th Street he would write imaginatively, “I walked into the foyer and immediately fell in love. It was a place unlike any other in New York, a sixteenth-century Dutch house transported brick by brick from Europe by the Wells Fargo family in the early twentieth century. There was a vaulted, twenty-foot ceiling in the living room, leaded windows, elegantly carved wood paneling...

Pair of framed botanical prints features the work of the renowned French floral artist Pierre Joseph Redoute (1759–1840). Known as the "Raphael of flowers," Redouté was celebrat...

Aquarelle by Jean Rene Prou French decorator for Le France paquebot little damage on the paper on the left see photo

This sun-drenched scene, drawn with a vivid palette of bright Mediterranean blues and chalk whites, shows a pattern of gridding by the artist, indicating that this drawing served as ...

A delicate and intimate ink drawing capturing the serene grace of a sleeping cat, executed with a refined economy of line reminiscent of early 20th-century Belgian modernism. In the ...

Original 1964 Gouache by Charles Burki – Dramatic Bear Attack Book Cover Art Original Cover Illustration for “De Groene Klauw” by John Ehle, 1964 This striking original gouache pai...

Large framed lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.

Original Illustration “Crossing Under Fire” by Charles Burki, 1953 – Gouache and Ink Drawing Powerful wartime illustration by Dutch artist Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed and date...

This gorgeous, original elevation watercolor, depicting a living room wall centered around a baronial fireplace with deep red brick hearth, was prepared for Madame Keime by the celebrated Leleu firm, in the years when Jules Leleu was passing the baton to his sons André and Jean and his daughter Paule. At the height of the Art Deco period, Jules was known for his sumptuous furniture with inlays of exotic woods such as Macassar ebony, amboyna and palisander, as well as designs for illustrious projects such as the SS Normandie and SS Ile de France...

A wonderful Robert Freiman watercolor, from 1956, entitled " Third Avenue at 57th Street". Robert J Freiman (b. 1917 - d. 1991), deaf from birth, was born in New York City and attended the Lexington School for the Deaf. He studied art at the National Academy of Design, Pratt Institute, the Art Students League, the Parsons School of Design, and, in Paris, at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Freiman’s spectrum of styles evolved considerably over the course of his long career, ranging from early portraiture and realistic landscape to mixed-media works using watercolor, acrylic, and pen. He was a regular exhibitor at the Sidewalk Art...

Large framed lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.

Title: Original 1948 Map of Canada by Charles Burki – Mounted Police Illustration and Art Deco Design This original 1948 pen-and-ink map of Canada by Charles Burki (1909–1994) maste...

Original Illustration "Julius" by Charles Burki, 1968 – Gouache Drawing Description: Original 1968 illustration by Charles Burki (1909–1994), the Dutch painter and illustrator renow...

An expressive and characterful 1966 drawing by Dutch artist F. Brehm, depicting a cat named after Holland's famous footballer Johan Cruyff, with her kittens. The composition captures...

Large Framed Lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.

Beautifully executed in warm, roseate colors -- coral, terra cotta, brick and ivory -- this drawing was made by Allyn Cox, probably as a study for one of many murals he was commissioned to paint at the US Capitol...

A wonderfully playful charcoal sketch on paper rendering of Central Park, New York City. Circa 1930. Signed with initials, HIC, lower left corner. Possibly a drawing for a later pain...

Beautiful work of art, gouache on paper, by the Belgian female artist Jo Verbestel. It is a portrait of a mythical figure / fantasy figure, in a somewhat psychedelic style. The paint...

Rare Yves Saint Laurent Original Pencil Croquis from the 1960's. Gifted to an American business partner who help to launch YSL Rive Gauche ...

RENE AMES - Vintage oil pastel drawing on paper - signed - contained in a vintage frame with glass - mid 20th century. Fair vintage condition - minor oil spot to the paper (upper ri...

Rene Prou drawing for the Paquebot France salon little damage on the paper at left see photo

The House That Waited – Original Crime Illustration by Charles Burki, 1965 This gripping noir-style illustration by Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed and dated 1965, depicts a tense...

Powerful and eloquent, this drawing by Raoul Pene du Bois showcases his mastery of the human figure, expressed with his usual Mannerist approach -- all elongated limbs and stylized p...

Always a master draftsman, this lovely drawing by Dunbar Beck demonstrates his mastery of the human figure, with antecedents in Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite paintings. The drapery ...

This drawing is a highly important and rare window into a relationship that impacted the larger world of Abstract Expressionism in New York just a few years after it was made in 1949...

Original 1952 Car Design Drawing by Gio Ponti for Touring Carrozzeria, Milan A rare fusion of automotive innovation and Italian design mastery, this original 1952 concept drawing was...

Showing the influence of Cubism and Art Deco, this lovely drawing of a female nude in a topsy-turvy interior -- with a curvy lamp echoed by turned wood posts for bed or stairway -- w...

This depiction of a seated male dancer, his dark eyes looking intently into the distance, was made by Emlen Etting, a Philadelphia artist who was active in the decades after World Wa...

This drawing is representing a nude woman. The frame is in a brown color, and the drawing is done on a white support. It has made circa 1940. Art Deco Period. by VAN DOREN (Raymond...

Woman in Fur Collar – Winter Portrait Illustration by Charles Burki, 1955 This evocative portrait by Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed and dated 1955, captures a haunting stillness ...

The Prisoner – Original Illustration by Charles Burki, 1965 This haunting original gouache illustration by Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed and dated 1965, stands among the artist’...

Original Illustration “Postwar Modern Life” by Charles Burki, 1952 – Pen and Ink Drawing Dynamic original pen and ink drawing by Dutch illustrator Charles Burki (1909–1994), signed ...

Niobe Greek mythology theme signed, 1938 framed (1 chip off on frame finish).

Ink and watercolor on Paper by José Luis Cuevas (Mexican, b.1934). Featuring characters from a story line inscribed lower left as the following (see d...

An expressive and characterful 1966 pencil drawing by Dutch artist signed F. Brehm, depicting a cat. The composition captures a remarkable sense of personality, with confident line w...

Eugène de Sala (1899–1987) Minimalist profile sketch executed in black and light blue pencil on paper. Signed “de Sala”. The motif depicts a stylized female head in profile, constr...

Vintage Architectural block print, signed Art Art 26.75 wide x 16.5 tall Mat 31.75 x 20. Unrestored original vintage condition wear is visible. review images provided.  

In this remarkable drawing, famed muralist Lassell Ripley depicts primitive man, warming himself by the fire with little to wear, looking into the distance toward the bright, white Art Deco spires of modern civilization. The contrast of early mankind with the advances of 1930s America is inspiring and beautiful, and Ripley clearly draw this to prepare for a mural project, probably unexecuted. Ripley is best known for his sportsman paintings, highly collectible today, but early in his career he became known for his murals, including several depicting the life of Paul Revere for the post office in Lexington...

Original Mid 20th Century English School Botanical Study Pencil And Watercolour on paper Mongrammed 'M M'. Dated 1941 Depicting Scabiosa Caucasica (blue pin cushion flower) and Sca...

Pencil Drawing of Athletic Male Figure circa 1930 "pencil on paper" "spotting on paper through out - add character" "unframed - will look amazing once properly matted and framed"

Charcoal Portrait Drawing of a Man, Framed in Gilt Wood, French Mid-20th Century Portrait of a man executed with minimalist strokes. The drawing captures the essence of his face, h...

A very rare and authentic Warner Brothers "Bugs Bunny" original hand-painted animation production cell by Friz Freleng, circa 1982. The drawing of Bugs Bunny playing tennis is from a...

Vintage Surrealist Watercolor & Pencil On Paper Drawing “Demons That Plague A Great Lady” Signed By A. W. Guenther C1968 Measures - 24 1/4" x 14 1/4" x 1" A surrealist watercolor a...

Artist: Pedro Friedeberg (Mexican, 1936-) Title:Le Tombeau D'Hemingway Year: 1963 Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper: Size: 14 3/4 x 19 1/2 plus 3 inch frame Mark: upper lef...

Emlen Etting returned again and again to the theme of Icarus Falling, in part because it gave him an opportunity to depict the nude male in motion. This large drawing served as a stu...

A striking example of mid-twentieth century German scientific pedagogy, this large-format zoological wall chart belongs to the celebrated Neue Zoologische Wandtafeln series published...

This is a mid 20th century charcoal on paper male nude study. This drawing is presented in a handmade Italian frame with cream and black mat boards. The charcoal drawing is a male nu...

Wayne Benter Jung, Fashion Sketch of Josephine Baker, Post WWII Gouache and ink on paper, 7.5" x 9.5" (sight), silver lacquered frame 11" x 9", circa late 1940s This vibrant fashion illustration represents Josephine Baker, the American-born dancer, singer, and actress whose international fame made her one of the most recognizable icons of the 20th century. Although often associated with her Parisian rise during the 1920s Jazz Age, Baker continued to embody glamour and modernity well into the 1940s and beyond, performing throughout wartime Europe, assisting the French Resistance, and reinventing her stage image for postwar audiences. The sketch, executed by Wayne Benter Jung (1919–2003), reflects this later phase of Baker’s career. Jung, a Wisconsin-born artist who studied at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee and served in WWII, turned to fashion and theatrical design during his early postwar years. His work often balanced fine art, interior decoration, and fashion, situating him within the larger mid-century American dialogue between commercial design and artistic practice. Fashion Analysis The gown depicted here is emblematic of late 1940s fashion sensibilities: Silhouette: The tightly belted waist and elongated column form anticipate the couture revolution inaugurated by Christian Dior’s New Look...

Amazing drawing of three horses galloping. This painting is signed "Chub 59' ". This drawing has a custom-made black painted frame.