Rolf Armstrong (1890-1960) As You Like It: Conception of the Ideal American Beauty 24 7/8 x 21 i...

Rolf Armstrong (1890-1960) As You Like It: Conception of the Ideal American Beauty signed 'Rolf / Armstrong' (center) pastel on board 24 7/8 x 21 in. (63.2 x 53.3 cm.) Executed circa 1930. Footnotes: Provenance Sale, M. Klein Estate Auctions, LLC, Chicago, May 15, 2005, lot 1161. (as Portrait of a Black-Haired Woman) Private collection, New York. American Illustrators Gallery, New York. (as Jewel in Red Lipstick) Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2014. Literature Life, April 18, 1930, vol. 95, iss. 2476, illustrated on the front cover. A captivatingly beautiful portrait by Rolf Armstrong, the present work is illustrated on the cover of the April 18, 1930 issue of Life and is one in a series of fifteen covers that Life commissioned from fifteen artists in America. Each week, from February 14 through May 23, an artist presented their image of the ideal American beauty on the cover of Life and the publication set out on a mission to find a woman who resembled each one. They asked their readers who viewed the present work on the cover, 'IF YOU know of a girl who resembles this cover by Rolf Armstrong, have her send her photograph to LIFE' and stated that, 'The original painting will be presented to the girl who, in the opinion of Rolf Armstrong, most closely resembles it.' ('Life's All-American Beauty Team!: Do you know a girl who looks like the girl on the Cover?,' Life, April 18, 1930, vol. 95, iss. 2476, p. 30) The goal of their campaign was to, 'Debunk all beauty contests! There is no such thing as the American Beauty or 'Miss America' and LIFE is going to prove it. The United States is full of American Beauties and each one a different type.' (Life, April 18, 1930, p. 30) For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing