Henry Patrick Raleigh - "Two Timer"

This piece was an early Christmas present to myself this year. It's by one of my favorite American artists from the golden age of illustration, Henry Patrick Raleigh, who was amongst the most prolific and successful illustrators of the early 20th century, having by his own account published over 20,000 illustrations by his early 40s, including illustrations for stories by popular authors of the time such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis, and William Faulkner. I first encountered his work while exploring the Society of Illustrators in New York years ago and later learned more about him after picking up a copy of the excellent monograph, "Henry Patrick Raleigh: The Confident Illustrator" from Auad Publishing. Raleigh's style was often quite loose but assured in its execution with a beautiful narrative quality about it. Although I'm not sure of the exact provenance of this piece, I assume that it was done as a magazine interior illustration.

Mixed media. Approximately 14.5 x 16.5 inches.