Pruett Carter (1891-1956) - Has He Passed Out? Or...? - Original Magazine Illustration Art - Oil on Bristol Paper P3279

A superbly executed mock-up for a magazine illustration: already the figures are alive and involving. We are pretty sure HE's alive, since this scene isn't lit like a noir thriller or a pulp magazine. The setting is domestic, and the light is daylight. We're inclined to speculate that the man is the woman's husband, and she, though very pretty, is definitely no femme fatale in her housewife's apron. It's a domestic crisis, and plenty dramatic. Pruett Carter was a master of magazine illustration, and it is doubly exciting to see him at work in this sketch and to glimpse his brilliant technique as works out his ideas. The painting comes to us from the estate of the daughter of the attorney who was left in charge of the artist's estate. Board measures 17 1/2" x 23". Studied under Walter Biggs. As art director for Good Housekeeping,  Pruett Carter gave himself his first illustration assigment. WWI service. Returned to a 40-year career, in demand for Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, Good Hou