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A Joan Crawford Art Gallery

One indication of a true icon is the desire of artists, both contemporary and latter-day, to recreate her image. Joan Crawford began inspiring works of art almost immediately upon her arrival in Hollywood in the 1920s; since then interest in her, and her image, has not waned. Below is a sampling of works of art inspired by Joan Crawford, ranging from the 1920s to the 2000s.

 

During Joan's Lifetime          Posthumous

 

Move your pointer over a picture for more information. Click on a picture to see the larger image.

 

 During Joan's Lifetime

1929 drawing by Joan's husband Doug Fairbanks, Jr.    Circa 1930. I believe this is a mural by bandleader Xavier Cugat, but please e-mail me if you know more info.    1930. Unknown artist with painting of Joan.

 1930. On the set of 'Paid,' with unknown artist. Please e-mail me if you know more about this guy!    A caricature by Joe Grant that was displayed at Sardi's in the 1930s.    1930s Italian postcard, by Ninoza.

 From a medieval-style mural of Hollywood stars by Russian artist V. Ignatieff, commissioned by Paul Bern for his new wife Jean Harlow in 1932.  See www.jeanharlowmural.com for more complete info.     Franchot Tone, Joan, Clark Gable. 1932 by Cecil Beaton.    1932. Sketch from 'Dance, Fools, Dance' by Edith Leach.    By Sergio Gargiulo. 1934, for MGM.

Mid-1930s, by William Reynolds. 9 x 12 inches, in pencil.    Mid-1930s original art for a screen magazine cover. (If you know which magazine's cover this appeared on, please let me know.)    Circa 1935 by Mexican artist Jesus Rodriguez Valero.    By Edward Biberman. Displayed in Joan's home for this 1937 magazine layout, actual year of painting unknown.

1938 French art poster for MGM.    1938 French art poster for MGM.    Caricature by Montiel. Year unknown. Please e-mail me if you have any further info on the artist.    Year unknown, by Al Hirschfeld.

   Circa 1940 (Joan and Fredric March from 'Susan and God') by Jose Rivas.    1941 sculpture of Joan by Yugoslavian artist Yucca Salamunich, inscripted 'To Christina.' Commissioned for 'A Woman's Face,' the sculpture made a reappearance in 1964's 'Strait-Jacket.'    A cartoon from the 1942 book 'With a Hays Nonny Nonny' by Elliot Paul and Luis Quintanilla. See www.lqart.org for more info.

1940s German art poster for Warners.    1950s sketch by 'Eve,' displayed at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel.    1953. Joan as Jenny Stewart in 'Torch Song.' Appeared in UK's 'Punch.'    By unknown artist. 1955. Joan, on the set of 'Queen Bee,' adds the finishing touches.

   A 1962 sketch by Volpe commemorating Joan in 'Mildred Pierce.'    Painting by Lucerne Robert, year unknown. This appeared on the cover of Joan's 1962 book 'A Portrait of Joan.'    By Margaret Keane. Year unknown. Joan poses in front of this painting on the cover of her 1971 book 'My Way of Life.'    1969 by Tom Wright, for the 'Eyes' episode of TV's 'Night Gallery.' (Thanks, Joyce, for the info!)

 1964 pop art by James Rosenquist.    1964. A personal gift from cartoonist Milton Caniff to Joan. Click to see larger version, plus a 1965 gift-sketch.    1960s. Lobby board by Joe Diloreto. Click for larger version, plus another board.

 


Posthumous (post-1977)

1981. By actor Charles Busch. Pastel, 12 x 18 inches. Auctioned off on eBay, April 2006.    A 1992 chair by Elaine Bannett.

Greeting card caricature by Brad Marshall (concept by T.J. Edwards) for TNT Designs, Inc. Year unknown.    By Richard Beckerman for 'Texas Monthly.' Date unknown.    1986 by Tom Hactman. Mad Magazine.

Year unknown. By Demetrie Kabbaz.  See www.demetriekabbaz.com for more info.    By Franck de la Mercedes. Year unknown. Acrylic, 18 x 24 inches.   By Franck de la Mercedes. Acrylic, 18 x 24.    Year unknown. By Leonie Van Schagen.

2004 by D. K. Stone. 24 x 24, acrylic. See www.ebsqart.com for more info.    Mixed media, by Mr. Frumpy. Year unknown.    21st century Joan computer art by LuLu. Click on this picture to see a larger version, plus 10 other works from the series, ranging from Joan's MGM years through her Grand Guignol period. Thanks to Louis for contributing his work.    Computer-generated art by Peter J. Swanson. Click to go to page with more Swanson works and link to his site.

Year unknown. By Tarantola, 40 x 30 inches. See www.tarantolaart.com for more info.    December 13, 1987, by Amanda Stegelson.

Year unknown. By Bounsay Pipathsouk. 36 x 52 inches.    By Braff. Pencil, 11 x 14.    By Braff, year unknown. 11 x 14, in pencil.

2003. By Leslie Penn.  Visit Penn's eBay store for more of her works:  http://stores.ebay.com/Hollywood-Pastels-by-Leslie-Penn    Pastel on photograph, 8 x 11. By Leslie Penn, 2004.    2005 by Leslie Penn.    Pastel, November 2005. By Orlena. Please check out the 'Art by Orlena' store on eBay. You can also look her up on eBay by her user name, 'Pinkybullies.'

By Sherry Baker. Acrylic, 10 x 12.    By Adam.    By Brad Fraser, 1989. Acrylic.

By Jim Dale and Pat DuPaul. Mixed media (satin hair, silver lame dress material). 21 x 17 inches. Click on photo to go to page with larger shot, and another Joan from the 'Ol Softies' collection.    'Joanah' by Karen Whitehill.  Found on the now-defunct hymntoher.com site.    'Wrestling the Angel' by Karen Whitehill. From the now-defunct website www.hymntoher.com.    Spray-painted street art on the streets of Santiago, Chile, by 'Garg.' (Thanks, Gustavo, for sharing this!)

By Amanda Dolan from her 2008 Soho show, 'Call Me Crazy,' which featured works about 15 controversial women.

 

 


Legal Note: Per the Fair Use clause of Section 107 of the amended Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC Section 107),

images on this site are intended solely for non-profit educational purposes,

to provide researchers and general readers with information about Joan Crawford's life and career.

Sources for photos  of art works have been credited when known. If you're the owner of any unintentionally uncredited information,

or an artist who'd like your Joan Crawford image presented here, please e-mail me.