Benjamin Jorj Harris for Newman Decor, Galloping Horses

About the Item

Galloping Horses, airbrushed watercolor by Benjamin Jorj Harris (American, 1904-1957) for Newman Decor. Dimensions shown are for frame. Sight: 35.5 inches by 23.5 inches. “Ben Jorj Harris” is actually the nom de brosse of the combined talents of Benjamin R. Harris and his wife, Georgette, nee Oberdorfer, who joined forces in the 1930's to freelance after both had worked for various design firms. The birth/death years are his. He is erroneously listed as African-American in many online bios. As they often collaborated on images, they created the collective signature name of "Jorj" after Georgette. Ben often used it as his middle name, a tribute to his partner that also made him quite unique. Ben Harris is born and raised in Albany, Georgia, a relative of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the popular Uncle Remus stories. Little survives of his timeline prior to arrival in New York, but all accounts make him something of a renaissance man. He is a licensed pilot, architect, artist, photographer, engraver and gifted raconteur. Georgette graduated from Skidmore College and dives into newspaper work, both as a writer and cartoonist. She next appears as a teacher of airbrush art at the College of New Rochelle before being named Art Director of Warner Bros. music publishing division. Together they produce sheet music cover art, covers for national magazines and ad layouts for clients like Pabst beer, Hiram Walker, Standard Brands, Dr. Pepper and A&P supermarkets. But their highest profile work is that done for Newman Décor, a high-end national furniture distributor and interior design firm that decorated New York apartments during the late 1940s housing boom and boasted original artworks guaranteed to match their fabrics. Harris was one of a stable of artists who supplied original watercolors, usually in pairs to complement the fabric selected. They publish a how-to instruction book, “Airbrush Illustration” in 1947.

Dimensions:

Height: 31.13 in (79.08 cm)Width: 43.25 in (109.86 cm)Depth: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)

Style:

Art Deco (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Glass,Wood

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

1940-1949

Date of Manufacture:

Mid-1940's