AN ORIGINAL ART DECO COLOR SKETCH by the American cartoonist RUSSELL PATTERSON, whose art deco illustrations inspired the fashion of the "Flappers", drawn at the bottom of a TYPED LETTER SIGNED by the ARTIST. by Patterson, Russell (1893-1977). American cartoonist, illustrator and scenic designer whose art deco magazine illustrations inspired the fashion of the "Flappers - 1944.

New York, January 3, 1944., 1944.. Fine. - Approximately 25 words typed on 11 inch high by 8-1/2 inch wide watermarked paper, signed in black ink by Russell Patterson apologizing that he does not have "any originals on hand". Across the bottom third of the page, the artist has sketched an original red & indigo crayon drawing of a fashionable woman's head below which he's additionally incorporated his signature in red crayon. Folded for mailing, else fine with the original mailing envelope with a war time postage stamp.

The American cartoonist, illustrator and scenic designer Russell Patterson (1893-1977) was born in Omaha Nebraska. Moving to Montreal, he attended McGill University and, for a short period, worked as a cartoonist for Montreal newspapers. Moving to Chicago, he worked as a catalog illustrator and traveled to Paris to further his studies. On his return to the U.S., he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. As his art career was not taking off, he settled in New York where his illustrations of "flappers", inspired by Parisian fashion, finally found a home adorning the covers and pages of magazines including "Judge", "Life", "The Saturday Evening Post", "Vogue", "Vanity Fair", "Redbook" and others and inspired the fashion of the 20's and 30's. He delved into theatre as costume and scenic designer, working on such Broadway productions as "The Gang's All Here", "Hold Your Horses", "Fools Rush In", and "Ziegfield Follies", among others. He worked as a film designer with the likes Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Martha Raye, and Shirley Temple. His numerous comic strips for the Hearst syndication chain included "Runaway Ruth", "Wings of Love", "Get-Your-Man Gloria", "The Countess & the Cowboy", and "Carolyn's Cadet". He produced a panel titled "Pin-Up Girls" for Hearst and created the cartoon "Mamie" for United Feature Syndicate.