This striking, unpublished illustration by Kelly Freas (1922-2005) was proposed to WEIRD TALES ca. 1950. The mixed media work, measuring 11.75" x 8.5", is titled "Lady of the Jaguar", and is up for bid at a current Heritage illustration auction. The pieces are expected to fetch $1000 to $5000.
The "jaguar" shown in the illustrations looks to be more like a panther, but it could be a stylized rendition to match a story that was slated for the magazine but was never included according to my investigation.
Another dealer apparently owned the two images and listed them for $20,000, describing one of them as being rejected by the artist himself and the other being rejected by WEIRD TALES as "too graphic". This seems unlikely when considering the long history of Margaret Brundage paintings depicting half or full nude figures draped in full color across cover after cover. Perhaps the aspect of sensual abandonment was a little too evident. The image sizes, indicated as 13" x 16" and rendered in colored pencil, also are different from the Heritage description.
Freas went on to have his first cover illustration published by WEIRD TALES for the November 1950 issue.
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