"'The Valley of the Moon' Cosmopolitan Magazine Illustration"   Lot no. 2824

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"The farmer crossed the plowed strip to Saxon, and joined her on the rail." Ink, watercolor, and gouache on board. 991x749 mm; 39x29 1/2 inches. Signed in full, lower left. Illustration for the first appearance of Jack London's novel "The Valley of the Moon," Cosmopolitan Magazine, September 1913, page 464.

The Valley of the Moon was serialized in Cosmopolitan from April through December, 1913 and issued in book form the same year. This classic London story features his favorite themes: a working-class couple who flee the labor unrest and the economic and spiritual poverty of Oakland, California for the peace and honesty of country life. They ultimately find their paradise, the Valley of the Moon, in the Sonoma hills.

 

Explore related art collections: Magazine Stories / Books / Romance / Rural / $20,000 - $50,000 / 1910s / Fashion

See all original artwork by Howard Chandler Christy

ABOUT THE ARTIST

            Howard Chandler Christy had a long, colorful and varied career. He made his early reputation when he accompanied the United States troops to Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and articles illustrated by his drawings were published by Scribner's and Leslie's Weekly. One picture for Scribner's, the "Soldier's Dream" [of his girl] became famous, and from then on, he specialized in drawing and painting beautiful "Christy Girls" for McClure's and other magazines.

            Christy's painting techniques was sumptuous, and he was in great demand as a portraitist. Among the notables he painted were President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, Amelia Earhart, Lawrence Tibbett, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, and Benito Mussolini.

 

            Christy was also a popular teacher and at various times instructed at Cooper Union, the Chase School, New York School of Art and the Art Students League.

 

            In Later Years, he painted several murals, including his well-known decorative nudes for the Café des artistes in New York City. His most famous mural is a 20- by 30- foot canvas, "The Signing of the Constitution," which hangs in the rotunda of the capitol in Washington, D.C. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1980.