Webster Cigars ad illustration 1944

This Webster Cigars ad illustration was made by Edwin Georgi, its medium is unknown. Looking at the faces in this painting, you can tell they are created with meticulous strokes that build up the form. The colors are subtle; a palette of muted greens, blues, and creams that evokes a sense of calm, almost like a memory fading at the edges. It is as if Georgi built up the image through layers and layers of color, slowly revealing the scene. Take a look at the hand holding the cigar, it's as if he is almost caressing it, a gesture rendered with such care that it speaks volumes about the culture surrounding smoking at the time. The artist is also very interested in the textures of fabrics; the folds of the suits, the fur stoles, and the hair styles. Georgi was part of a generation of artists who straddled the line between fine art and commercial illustration. His legacy lives on through the many advertising images he created, as well as in the work of contemporary painters who also blur the boundaries between these two worlds.