Silent Film Star Mary Pickford Charles Sheldon Unseen Vintage 1920s Photograph
Item History & Price
ITEM: This is a 1920s vintage and original gelatin silver photograph taken by American illustrator and amateur photographer, Charles Sheldon, of silent film star, Mary Pickford, taken as reference for his pastel portraiture. This unseen view of Pickford from Sheldon's estate is a unique artifact from the Roaring Twenties. The included image of Sheldon's finished artwork is for reference only, not part of this auction.
Measures 5" x 7" with warm tones on single-weight, glossy pa...per stock.
Guaranteed to be 100% vintage and original from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
Charles Gates Sheldon was one of the premiere illustrators of the 1920s and 1930s. He created advertising for lingerie companies, Fox Shoes, Breck Shampoo (he originated the “Breck Girl” campaign), and movie magazine cover portraits. Sheldon maintained a studio at Carnegie Hall in New York City during the twenties and thirties and photographed the glamorous Hollywood film stars of the era for his cover portrait work. Stars who sat for Sheldon include: Jean Harlow, Clara Bow, Marion Davies, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Olive Borden, Mary Pickford, and dozens more.
These stills were never meant for public consumption, they were taken to be used for his pastel portraiture work. Many are unscripted - Sheldon was an amateur photographer and it is unique to see such glamorous stars posed often times so informally. Part of Sheldon’s talent was a knack for convincing his artist’s models and leading ladies to pose for him partially undressed or fully nude — emulating the spirit of NYC’s Ziegfeld Follies and other burlesque revues which had taken Manhattan by storm during the Roaring 20s. This still comes from the collection of Charles Sheldon.
00173
Measures 5" x 7" with warm tones on single-weight, glossy pa...per stock.
Guaranteed to be 100% vintage and original from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
Charles Gates Sheldon was one of the premiere illustrators of the 1920s and 1930s. He created advertising for lingerie companies, Fox Shoes, Breck Shampoo (he originated the “Breck Girl” campaign), and movie magazine cover portraits. Sheldon maintained a studio at Carnegie Hall in New York City during the twenties and thirties and photographed the glamorous Hollywood film stars of the era for his cover portrait work. Stars who sat for Sheldon include: Jean Harlow, Clara Bow, Marion Davies, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Olive Borden, Mary Pickford, and dozens more.
These stills were never meant for public consumption, they were taken to be used for his pastel portraiture work. Many are unscripted - Sheldon was an amateur photographer and it is unique to see such glamorous stars posed often times so informally. Part of Sheldon’s talent was a knack for convincing his artist’s models and leading ladies to pose for him partially undressed or fully nude — emulating the spirit of NYC’s Ziegfeld Follies and other burlesque revues which had taken Manhattan by storm during the Roaring 20s. This still comes from the collection of Charles Sheldon.
00173
