THE BEAUTY OF ORIGINAL PULP ART

For those that believe pulp art belongs in the same category of pulp fiction, I offer you this gallery of pictures. Mostly "shunned" by the "art community", pulp art is gaining more respectability as time goes on and there are less other subjects to mine to promote and profit from. In any event, some of the most beautifully rendered and evocative images have come from the pages of pulp and pulp paperbacks.

These images are currently up for auction. Estimates are the anticipated final selling price.

Margaret Brundage (American, 1900-1976)
The Slithering Shadow, Weird Tales pulp magazine cover, September 1933
Pastel on paper
24 x 18 inches (61.0 x 45.7 cm)
Signed lower right
Previously from the estate of John McLaughlin
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000.

Virgil Finlay (American, 1914-1971)
The Thief of Forthe, Weird Tales magazine cover, July 1937
Oil on board
17-1/2 x 13-3/8 inches (44.5 x 34.0 cm) (sight)
Signed and dated lower left
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000.

Lee Brown Coye (American, 1907-1981)
The Vampire, Weird Tales magazine cover, July 1947
Oil on canvasboard
24 x 15-3/4 inches (61.0 x 40.0 cm)
Signed lower center
PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Private collection, acquired from the above;
By descent to the present owner.
This illustration was listed on page 163 of Arts Unknown: The Life & Art of Lee Brown Coye by Luis Ortiz (NonStop, 2005). The July 1947 edition of Weird Tales magazine featured numerous famed science-fiction authors including Ray Bradbury.
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000.

Lee Brown Coye (American, 1907-1981)
Seaton's Aunt, Sleep No More: Twenty Masterpieces of Horror for the Connoisseur interior illustration, 1944
Ink on board
8-1/2 x 5 inches (21.6 x 12.7 cm) (image)
Signed with artist's symbol lower left
PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Private collection, acquired from the above;
By descent to the present owner.
This illustration was listed on page 64 of Arts Unknown: The Life & Art of Lee Brown Coye by Luis Ortiz (NonStop, 2005).
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000.

Lee Brown Coye (American, 1907-1981)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1944
Ink on paper
10-1/2 x 5-1/4 inches (26.7 x 13.3 cm) (image)
Signed and dated lower center: Lee Brown Coye 1944
PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Private collection, acquired from the above;
By descent to the present owner.
This illustration was possibly an unpublished work for Sleep No More: Twenty Masterpieces of Horror for the Connoisseur (Farrar & Rinehart, 1944).
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000.

Artist Unknown (20th Century, American)

Konga: A Monarch Movie Book paperback cover, 1960

Gouache on board

25-1/2 x 16-1/2 inches (64.8 x 41.9 cm) (sight)

Not signed

This illustration was published as the paperback of Konga: A Monarch Movie Book by Dean Owen (Monarch Books, 1960). A copy of the paperback accompanies this lot.

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500.

Hannes Bok (American, 1914-1964)

Helen of Troy, 1960

Mixed media on paper

15-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches (39.4 x 26.7 cm) (sight)

Signed and dated lower right: Hannes Bok 1960

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500.

Gray Morrow (American, 1934-2001)

The Bane of Kanthos paperback cover, 1969

Acrylic on canvasboard

30 x 24-3/4 inches (76.2 x 62.9 cm)

Not signed

This illustration was the paperback cover for The Bane of Kanthos by Alex Dain (Ace Double, 1969).

Estimate: $800 - $1,200.

Attributed to Gerald Powell (American, 20th Century)

Tentacles of Dawn paperback cover, 1978

Gouache on board

30-1/2 x 20 inches (77.5 x 50.8 cm)

Not signed

This illustration was the paperback cover for Tentacles of Dawn by Robert Wilson (Major Books, 1978). A copy of the paperback accompanies this lot.

Estimate: $700 - $900.

Hugh Joseph Ward (American, 1909-1945)
Desert Madness, Spicy Adventure Stories magazine cover, May 1935
Oil on canvas
20 x 14 inches (50.8 x 35.6 cm)
Signed lower right
Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000.