Rare Original Hawaii Surf Poster by Chas Allen, circa 1958

In an early commercial commission, renowned British Pop Artist Allen Jones was asked to design the publicity poster for the 1976 US release of Barbet Schroeder’s 1973 fetish romance 'Maîtresse,' starring a young Gerard Depardieu as the small time crook who stumbles into the double-life of a dominatrix, played by Bulle Ogier. Werner Gallery, who exhibited Jones' original artwork in 2016, stated that 'despite his inability to Identify with its explicit sadomasochistic themes, Jones accepted the poster commission based on his fondness for the powerfully stylized heroine of the film.' Jones' original design, with the high-heeled, leather-clad brunette with bull whip in hand, proved too risqué for the distributor, so the figure was reworked into a blonde beauty gripping a pair of keys instead of the more provocative whip. In 2008, Jones revisited his original design and began developing it into a series of dominatrix paintings...

A simplified adaptation of Homer's 'Odyssey,' the 1954 Italian fantasy-adventure film 'Ulysses' follows the warrior king on his wandering ten year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, where his loyal queen and son pray for his safe return. Kirk Douglas starred as the titular Greek hero, alongside producer Dino De Laurentiis' wife Silvana Mangano in a double role as both the faithful wife Penelope and mysterious sorceress Circe. Shot over seven months on a budget of $3 million, with almost a year in post-production, 'Ulysses' earned $124 million at the US box office alone and provided a template for Italian productions to come, igniting the sword-and-sandal craze for lavish Greco-Roman historical...