The Catch of the Season

1930. Oil on canvas with artist made frame, 24 x 18 inches. Unsigned, wear to finish as expected, some chips to frame but otherwise in good condition.<br/> <br/> Dynamic painting of a woman catching a baseball painted for the July 1930 issue of Film Fun magazine. Enoch Bolles (1883-1976) was born in Boardman, Florida. He studied at National Academy of Design, and at the Art Student's League in New York City. His first magazine assignments appeared in 1914 on the covers of Judge and Puck. He went on to establish a reputation for his distinctive cover paintings for spicy magazines, such as Film Fun, Stolen Sweets, Gay Book, Titter, Tattle Tales. Due to overwork and malnutrition, Bolles suffered a mental collapse in 1938. He entered a New Jersey mental institution, Greystone Hospital, where he remained for most of his life. He eventually recovered enough to paint landscapes and portraits of hospital workers, family and friends. He had access to a small art studio in the hospital. Enoch Bolles was finally discharged from Greystone Hospital in 1969. He was among the earliest and most widely circulated glamour illustrators. While known today as a pinup artist, Bolles was a versatile illustrator who also worked extensively in the advertising industry, creating hundreds of attractive color illustrations for products ranging from bread to cigarettes. This painting is an excellent example of his work.<br/> <br/>