Charles Gates Sheldon 1889-1960 | American Pin-up Illustrator

Charles Gates Sheldon 1889-1960 | American Pin-up Illustrator
Charles Sheldon was a prolific and gifted early 1900's American Illustrator who specialized in "pretty woman" themed cover portraiture and advertising in the Art Nouveau and Edwardian styles. After studying at the Art Students League, he went to Paris to study under the legendary Alphonse Mucha. He returned to America and set up a studio at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 1918 Sheldon received his first pin-up commission, a series of ads for La Vogue lingerie. He went on to do a series of work for the Fox Shoe Company as well as front covers for Collier's Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post and Photoplay. By 1921 he was contributing high fashion portraits to Woman's Home Companion and Theater magazine. Famous women all over the world arranged to sit for portraits in his studio in Carnegie Hall in New York. The pastels he created for Photoplay 1925-1930 launched his career as a portrait cover artist. During this time period most of the stars sat three or four times for each of these portraits, later came cover art commissions for Screenland, Movie Classic and Radio Digest magazines. His glamorous interpretations of Clara Bow, Mae West, Jean Harlow, Greta Garbo, Gilda Gray, Mary Pickford, Shirley Temple and hundreds of other early tinsel town enchantresses were in high demand for these attention grabbing newsstand viewed publications.