Santa Claus Sexy Playboy Cartoon First African American Illustrator, Elmer Simms Campbell

Elmer Simms Campbell was the first African American Illustrator to work for major newsstand magazines.
Published , Playboy Magazine, December, 1963
Signed in pencil lower right
The uploaded video on 1stDibs is coming up a bit off color. Refer to the still images for more accurate color

E. Simms Campbel was the first major Black American Illustrator. He did covers for Esquire Magazine starting in the 1930s.
He created the famous bulging-eyed Esquire Mascot “Esky.”
He also worked for The Chicagoan, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, The New Yorker, Playboy, Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, Pictorial Review, and Redbook.
He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame in 2002.
His work demonstrates a deep and masterfully understanding of drawing figures and faces in an academic but stylized style.