Sexy Blond Falls from Window - Noir Pulp Art, 1959

There is plenty of B-movie-like pulp illustration art out there to consider. This work, however, is fundamentally different. The main point about the Harry Barton painting is not that it graced the cover of a campy Noir Pulp paperback, but that its composition is acutely complex and masterfully designed. Barton captures the moment after a blond bombshell is pushed out of a window, and it's ingenious. He presents the viewer with close-up, middle-distance, and far-away views in a single picture so that the eyes follow the action. The interplay of light and shadow, fingers and legs, and a multitude of light sources demonstrates Barton's brilliance and conveys the essence of falling. The blond subject, seen in mid-air, is portrayed as being sexy before death. The painting does not carry moral instructions but is an exceptional noir still from the 1950s and a brilliant piece of graphic design. Signed lower right Barton.
Published as the cover of Play for Keeps by Harry Whittington (Ace, 1959), and is accompanied by a copy of the book.
Framed under glass. Framed Dimensions 29.5 - 23 Inches
Harry Barton (American, 1908–2001 )
Gouache on Illustration Board
29 1/2 - 23 - 1 in
US$17,000 Plus Shipping