We are starting a new series for 2020: Art from the Public Domain. There is an amazing amount of art in the public domain. Sources like Wikimedia Commons, Archive.org, and many public libraries have made this remarkable art available for free online. Our series will share select works and collections from our research. 

Today, we share a striking work by Henry Clive, a popular illustrator, graphic artist, designer, and actor during the early half of the 20th century. Here is a short Wikipedia backgrounder:

Henry Clive (1882–1960) was an Australian-born American graphic artist and illustrator. Clive is known particularly for his illustrations in The American Weekly and cover series, which were posed for by screen celebrities.

Life and works

Clive was born Henry O'Hara in Australia and spent his childhood on a sheep ranch outside Melbourne. In later years Clive moved to Hollywood, acted in silent films and became an art director in Charlie Chaplin's productions, where he starred as a villain in City Lights. In 1950, Clive married former actress Acquanetta who then returned to acting for several years. When she retired from the movies in 1953, she became a disk jockey for radio station KPOL (AM) in Los Angeles.

Clive's 1925 Art Deco illustration Sultana for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company was once sold for $22,705. Housed in the Estate of Charles Martignette, in 2010 Sultana was put on sale again at Heritage Auctions. Sultana was reproduced in The Great American Pin-Up by Charles G. Martignette and Louis K. Meisel.

You can read the full entry on Henry Clive at Wikipedia. There's also a swell article on Mr. Clive at the Grapefruit Moon Gallery.