?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
JOE BOWLER. Couple dancing. Story illustration for "The Yum Yum Girl," published in McCall's magazine, March 1960. Gouache on board. 508x654 mm; 20x25 3/4 inches. Signed "Bowler" in lower left image.
Joe Bowler's career as a commercial illustrator began while working as an apprentice at Charles E. Cooper studios, the agency that represented top illustrators in the field including Coby Whitmore, Jon Whitcomb, and Joe DeMers. While assisting the artists with mixing paint and cleaning brushes, Bowler's talent was discovered by Whitmore, prompting him to show his work to Cosmopolitan who purchased it on sight. Bowler was soon offered a "real" job at Cooper studios where he produced works for McCall's, The Ladies' Home Journal, The Saturday Evening Post, and more. After tragically contracting polio in 1958, Bowler became paralyzed. Fortunately, therapy restored movement to his arms and hands, and he was able to return to his career. He has been honored by the New York Art Directors Club, The Artists Guild of New York, and The Society of Illustrators.
Bowler was known for his striking compositions and brilliant colors. Referring to himself as a "flesh color painter," Bowler was interested in exploring "the play of warm and cool colors, [enhancing] the volume of and dimensionality of the figure."
Source: "Biography" and "Nudes." joebowlerchronicles.com. http://www.joebowlerchronicles.com/index.html
