Sexy Girl and Hot Car, Alfa Romeo Traffic Stop - Playboy Cartoon - Mid Century, 1961

The enduring appeal of Ben Denison's work is not what would be considered corny men's magazine humor of the early 1960s, but rather his masterful painting skills. In the present work, we observe a frenetic brushstroke application to depict the trees. In the tradition of Modernism, it is both abstract and representational. Denison's approach was to employ a simplified, stripped-down, flat use of bold color, eliminating unnecessary detail, with a high sense of patterning. It focuses on color relations, interaction shapes and less with the illusion of depth.
Along with other Illustration luminaries of his generation, he helped define the look of the late 1950s and early 1960s in magazine illustration. There may be a reference to Matisse, but Denison has carved out his own simplified narrative style, which is light, airy, and with an underlying sense of joyfulness. He is one of the most significant painters to emerge after World War II. Yet, he is still relatively unknown.
Signed lower left: Denison
Frame Size 22 x 17.25 - Elegantly framed with new metal frame and mat under museum grade glass
Provenance: The Playboy Collection.
The present work is published on page 92 in the September 1961 issue of Playboy with the caption: "So I asked myself, what can I do to meet that big, handsome policeman?"
The caption seems dated but the image looks quite fresh and contemporary.
Wear and markings to margins of board in keeping with illustration and publishing process. Framed under glass
Ben Denison, ‘Alfa Romeo Traffic Stop - Playboy Cartoon - Mid Century’, 1961
Ben Denison, American, 1926–2008
Gouache, Pencil on Board
22 - 17.25 inches
US$16,500 Plus Shipping