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I’ll never look at a piece of humble A4 photocopier paper in quite the same way again after seeing the range of works by amazing Danish artist Peter Callesen.
Just look at the detail and creativity that must go into his paper scultures:
Cowboy
53 x 40,5 x 7 cm.
Acid Free A4 115 gsm paper, glue, acrylic paint and oak frame
It’s almost a year since I wrote about Annie Oakley, “the first American female superstar” and how she’s been portrayed in the media over the last 100 years.
The post remains the most popular on this blog with many people still interested in finding out just how one of the stars of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show looked all those years ago.
So with a bit of digging over at the Library of Congress archives, I’ve tracked down two new Annie Oakley pictures - the first was taken in 1899 by Richard K. Fox and is titled:
The black and white photo does bear some resemblance to the Wild West Show promotional poster. The hat, dress, stockings and footwear certainly match, as does the chest full of medals.
But I can’t help but think the artist who drew the poster used a little ‘Photoshop magic’ - normally associated with modern magazine cover celebrities - long before the age of computer trickery.
The face is a little thinner and the nose a little more prominent, perhaps suggesting feminine beauty was a key ingredient of circus show marketing even back in the 1890s.
It’s circus acts that also form the centrepiece of the next picture, an illustration created by artist Peter Newell in 1894 to illustrate a story published in the March 31st issue of Harper’s Weekly:
Newell’s drawing illustrates an article reporting on an amateur circus performed by the residents of Nutley, New Jersey to raise funds for the establishment of a branch of the Red Cross Association. Their star performer was Nutley’s celebrated resident, Annie Oakley.
A gentleman wearing a hat and spectacles stands before a hoop held by two clowns. The scene depicted in the center of the hoop is of Annie Oakley, standing on horseback, giving a demonstration of her shooting ability. Outside the hoop are other scenes of circus acts such as acrobats, fencing, an animal on horseback, and a dancing bear.
Here’s a close-up view of the central part of the illustration showing Oakley shooting at an unseen target whilst standing on a moving horse.
It’s a truly impressive feat and one I can’t think would be allowed under modern entertainment laws given the potential risks to the audience and performer!
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!
Here’s another recent online auction find - a pin-up style cowgirl strutting through the cactusland in some fancy cowboy boots. Not sure about the accuracy of the lasso thrower off to the right of the picture.
The playing card is signed but my eyesight means I can’t make out the name. It’s in the general pinup style of the 1940/50s era and another good add to my cowgirl art collection.
Browsing eBay I also spotted this lovely calendar sample print of 1951 vintage titled “The Round-Up” by Art Frahm.
Grapefruit Moon Gallery, which specialises in vintage pulp and pin-up themed collectables, is selling a batch and I’m tempted to bid for this nostalgic artwork featuring two boys in costume rounding up the neighborhood policeman.
I’ve been looking for more vintage pin-up style western playing cards lately and have come across a whole host of great sites about this style of artwork that was so popular during the 30’s, 40’s and 1950’s.
There’s even a dedicated gallery for collectors, ‘Great American Pinup’ at the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in Prince Street, New York City.
The picture below I found on a recent eBay hunt and is at the tamer end of the pinup art spectrum:
I’ve no idea who took the picture but it’s in the style of the more risque art created by Joyce Ballantyne, Art Frahm and Gil Elvgren for Brown & Bigelow. It also features on the Home Brew Records website for rock-a-billy / hillbilly group The Ranch Girls - in fact they have a good selection of wholesome western pinup girls from the fifties.
Brown & Bigelow of course is the keeper of some iconic American art produced mainly for calendars for over 100 years by some seriously seminal illustrators:
The Brown & Bigelow Archive… includes the exciting westerns of Charles Russell and Frederick Remington; the sporting scenes of Philip Goodwin and Frank Hoffman; the humorous “poker dogs” of C.M. Coolidge; the wildlife of Sweeney; the landscapes of Maxfield Parrish and the work of America’s best known artist, Norman Rockwell. We also feature hundreds of pin-ups by Gil Elvgren, Rolf Armstrong, Earl Moran, Zoe Mozert and others.
As the Meisel gallery website states, this pinup style of illustration was everywhere in the first half of the 20th century:
Every business, restaurant, theatre, club, and locker room was decorated with these beauties. Feminism, multi-culturalism, and political correctness, and all other hindrances to the pleasures provided by the pin-up artists were nonexistent.
So has modern political correctness killed off pinup art? In World War II when fighter plane and bomber nose art was common was it only brave airmen who got away with this public display of glamour? I doubt it.
In fact I’m sure far worse can be found on the 21st century internet and probably in many modern day advertising campaigns too where sex sells is still the motto of the day.
More finds to follow…
For now buy a copy of Taschen’s ‘1000 Pin-Up Girls’ and celebrate the innocence of the American pin-up .
I remember back in the distant days of the 1970s when kids were used to making do at Xmas time, there was no expectation of a new games console, a haul of DVDs or even a new mobile phone. No, life was simple and if you didn’t have money to spare you could use your craft skills and make something instead.
How times change, eh? Whilst I’m not suggesting that parents suffering from the fallout of the credit crunch should resort to walnuts and tangerines to cheer up their offspring come December 25th, there are certainly many things you can do to cut back on Christmas holiday spending costs.
It’s obviously a problem shared as there’s a whole forum thread dedicated to how to tell the kids Xmas is being scaled back on Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert website.
So if you’re looking for DIY craft gift ideas why not embrace the western theme (you’re reading this blog after all) and try your hand at creating a Covered Wagon Pencil Holder, an Old West Memo Holder or a Cowboy Can Cooler.
MakingFriends.com has some superb ideas for kids and anyone who enjoys creating a hand made gift - best bit is they also ship to overseas customers. If you can’t wait though there’s always the UK high street specialist HobbyCraft and their ideas library.
Happy gluing!
