"“Show me the mystery of this lock...” Story illustration for Cosmopolit" Lot no. 4192
By William Frederick Foster (1883-1953)
1910
33.00" x 22.50;" Framed 39.00" x 27.50"
Oil on Canvas
Signed, at left
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Story illustration for “The Illustrious Prince: The Ball at Devenham House” by E. Phillips Oppenheim for Cosmopolitan, published February 1910, page 355.
The full caption reads: “‘Show me the mystery of this lock,’ she begged. ‘I have been trying to open it ever since you went away.’”
Explore related art collections: Magazine Stories / Black & White / $5,000 - $20,000 / 1910s / Newly Researched
See all original artwork by William Frederick Foster
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Will Frederick Foster first had ambitions to be a violinist, but after seeing a painting by Albert Beck Wenzell, changed his goal form music to art. His first art instruction was under Frank Duveneck and Joseph Henry Sharp at the Cincinnati Art Academy. His studies were then continued at the Art Students League and the New York School of Art with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase. He was able to support himself and gain practical experience by painting theatrical backgrounds for the Lee Lash Studios at Union Square.
In 1903, he sold his first illustration to Life magazine in a style which very closely resembled that of Wenzell, with great emphasis on technique in depicting high society. Gaining popular appeal, Foster was soon illustrating for almost all the major magazines, which included Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Everybody’s, The Delineator, The Saturday Evening Post, Associated Sunday Magazine, Harper’s Monthly, Munsey’s, Harper’s Bazar, Red Book and Liberty.
During World War I, Foster served in France, with his own ambulance, as a member of the American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps.
On his return, Foster resumed his illustration career, but moved to Chicago where he also taught at the Art Institute. He then began to paint for exhibition and became an Associate in the National Academy of Design. Eventually, Foster settled in Los Angeles and a painting career which included work with Willy Progany on a mural project at the Hearst estate in Wyntoon, California. Foster was made an honorary lifetime member of the California Art Club, and taught many students who went on to successful careers. An excellent biography of the artist, William Frederick Foster, A.N.A. by Phyllis Settecase Barton was published by Richlane Publishing in 1987