murder in the Keystone State

Spot illustration, Columbia Records new popular-release weekly trade mailer, November 7, 1942, promoting bandleader Horace Heidt's new single, "Pennsylvania Polka." Despite the caption,  there appear to be no casualties on the dance floor.

Jim Flora: The First 100 Years

One hundred years ago today, James Royer Flora was born in the quaint village of Bellefontaine, Ohio. Above, possibly making its first public appearance, is the artist's earliest extant work, a pen & ink with pencil (or charcoal) entitled First Steps, dated June 8, 1935, around the time Flora enrolled at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Whether the work is intended to be autobiographical shall forever remain a mystery.

To observe the centennial, we have two exhibits in development, and one or two others under consideration. The first, at a cool Brooklyn club/bistro/gallery called Jalopy, will run from June 13 to August 22. Because the club's decor is largely music-themed, this exhibit will spotlight Flora's album cover art—which also happens to be the focus of our most recent anthology, The High Fidelity Art of Jim Flora (published by Fantagraphics in August 2013). On display will be original copies of Flora album covers—some extremely rare—as well as selected offerings from our album cover fine art print catalog.

The second will be a major retrospective of Flora's fine art and commercial illustrations at Silvermine Art Center, in Norwalk, Connecticut. The opening reception takes place September 21, and the exhibit runs for six weeks. Flora and his artist wife Jane, whose Bell Island home was part of greater Norwalk, were members of the Silvermine Guild of Artists, so this exhibit is something of a homecoming. Dozens of rare works will be displayed, along with paintings and original artist prints which have appeared in our four anthologies.

So, to the esteemed Mr. Flora, wherever you are:

Flora at BlissTopic Arte

For our Spanish-speaking (-reading, actually) Floraphiles, here's a lengthy profile of our upcoming centenarian (Jan. 25) by Esther B. Vigil at BlissTopic.com. The title, EXORCIZANDO DEMONIOS AL RITMO FRENÉTICO DEL JAZZ, translates as "exorcising demons to the rhythm of jazz," which is an interesting take on Flora's devilish creations. The images were borrowed from our website, except for a 1950s photo we provided of Flora at work in his studio. The article includes the 1959 UPA animated version of Flora's kiddie book The Fabulous Firework Family, for which Flora created the storyboard but not the art used in the cartoon.