Alexander Brook (American, 1898-1980) Portrait of a Little Girl, The Saturday Evening Post cover, September 13, 1947 Oil on canvas 22 x 16 inches (55.9 x 40.6 cm) Signed lower right: A. Brook PROVENANCE: The artist; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Stuart, Sr., gift from the above; By decent to the present owner. While today The Saturday Evening Post is most remembered for how its incredible art direction helped illustrators like J.C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell become integrated into the canon of American art, the magazine also worked to bring traditional fine artists like Alexander Brook to the attention of the mainstream public. "The painting on this week's cover is one we intercepted on its way to a museum, where Alexander Brook's work is usually seen, and the art department presents it with considerable pride," art director Kenneth Stuart wrote in the interior description of the work. The model was Barbara Ann Sharpe, the child in Brook's Savannah, Georgia neighborhood. Much like Rockwell, Brook used his community for his models, and the internal psychological lives of these ordinary people was Brook's signature subject. This moving image is characteristic of Brook's work, featuring his preferred muted color palate and evoking a sense of deep melancholy. It's a departure from a standard cover of The Saturday Evening Post of the period with historic and artistic interest. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved