Gil Elvgren is for many people the ultimate cheesecake/pin-up illustrator of the 20th century - the ‘Elvgren Girl’ was sweet, sexy and innocent and, as a result of the popularity of his work, he enjoyed a 30 year partnership with Brown and Bigelow.
Elvgren created all kinds of glamourous pin-ups but my favourite are, of course, the cowgirl themed artworks used to illustrate calendars from the 1950s.
If you have the odd ninety thousand dollars to spare then take a look at one of the current listings for sale at the Grapefruit Moon Gallery:
A fun sassy cowgirl is featured in this original oil on canvas by Gil Elvgren. This work was created for a 1953 Brown & Bigelow comissioned calendar titled Beat That. This rare surviving Western Americana/pin-up cross collectible image is fresh, bright, and a defining work by the well listed master illustrator.
The original oil painting looks superb, a real treasure from the 1950s, and could well prove to be a sensible investment. The gallery states:
A new auction record on the artist Gil Elvgren was set June 5th 2008 at Heritage Galleries when the Brown & Bigelow Commissioned Work “FASCINATION” Lot #66097 sold for $262,900.00, in the same sale another Elvgren oil on canvas “SKIRTING THE ISSUE” reached $203,150.00!
The Grapefruit Moon Gallery is an online art gallery “specialising in original Pin-up, Glamour, Advertising, and Cover Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration”.
They’re based in Minneapolis, Minnesota so if you’re interested in this Elvgren original head for the North Star state ASAP!
