A Study in Red

What a treat!  This is the original painting to the July 1940 cover of Film Fun and it was only recently that I learned she was still around. Bolles may well have painted her in Greystone Hospital, where he sometimes enlisted nurses to serve as models. It not only is a fantastically preserved example of his late work but an unusual one on several accounts.  The night scene is unique among all Film Fun covers and there are many details evident, including the stars, that were lost in the magazine printing.  Bolles said an engraver once strongly encouraged him about using the color red and this advice was taken further here than just about any other cover Bolles did, and to good effect too. He had some great swim suit designs in his 1940s covers but this suit tops them all.  How about that red vest-cummerbund detail.  And take a gander at those Victory curls!  His treatment of hair could be rather loose at times but there is an amazing, almost mathematical precision to her hairdo. Finally, if you just can't resist that smile, she could be yours. The original painting is up for sale at Grapefruit Moon Gallery.  She'll be making an appearance at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Con this week (Mala Mastroberte, the Bolles girl in the flesh will be there too). Is your piggy bank big enough?