James "Jim" Flora (1914 – 1998), best known for his distinctive and idiosyncratic album cover art for RCA Victor and Columbia Records during the 1940s and 1950s, was also a prolific commercial illustrator from the 1940s to the 1970s and the author/illustrator of 17 popular children's books. Less well known is that he was a fine artist with a diabolical bent, who created hundreds of paintings, drawings, etchings and sketches over his 84-year lifespan.
My thanks go to Irwin Chusid and the heirs of Jim Flora’s estate for allowing me to use these images. Here is Jim Flora’s official website containing lots more information and some merchandise: www.jimflora.com
This is part 3 of a 3-part post on the works of Jim Flora. For biographical notes on Jim Flora see part 1.For earlier works see parts 1 - 2 also [note: I do not have dates for all the works in part 3].
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| 1966 Fortune Magazine © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1966 Fortune Magazine 2 © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1968 The Joking Man © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1968 Bell Island at Night tempera © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1969 Little Hatchy Hen © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1969 Little Hatchy Hen © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1969 Life Magazine © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1970s Rowayton Creature Tableau pen, ink, watercolour on illustration board © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1970 G3 in Tampico painting © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1970 Chance Encounter tempera © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1972 Pishtosh Bullwash & Wimple © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1973 Stewed Goose © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1976 The Great Green Turkey Creek Monster © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1978 Grandpa's Ghost Stories © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1982 Grandpa's Witched-Up Christmas © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1992 Miff Mole's Cat © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1996 Chateau Country © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1996 Mournful Thoughts © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1998 An Evening at Condon's © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 1998 Taken Before His Time © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2004 "Conviction" Taylor Mali CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
The above Taylor Mali cover is a reworking of Flora's famous 1947 Gene Krupa cover I featured in part 1:
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| 1947 "Gene Krupa and His Orchestra" 78 album cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
The Gene 1947 Gene Krupa cover is also employed for the cover of a forthcoming book by Irwin Chusid and Barbara Economon, who have sent me an exclusive preview:
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| © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2006 "Do This" Reptet CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2007 "Whirled Chamber Music" Quartet San Francisco CD © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2007 "Ectoplasm" The Raymond Scott Quintet (1948-49 recordings) album cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2008 "Pow Wow" R. Stevie Moore digital © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2008 "Chicken or Beef?" Reptet CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2008 Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet 7" single © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2009 "Agendacide" Reptet 7" single © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2009 "R. Stevie Moore Sings Ford Theatre" digital © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2009 "Duos" Charles Wuorinen CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2010 "Every Voice Counts" Clockwork Singers CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2011 "Stepping High Dance and Other Songs" Eddie Murray digital © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2011 "At the Cabin" Reptet CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2011 "Alone with You" Cracked Latin CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2012 "Suite for Violin and Piano" Raymond Scott CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| 2012 "Raymond Scott Rewired" Various Artists CD cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
Some miscellaneous works I couldn't find dates for:
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| Como Mola una Meren Ola © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Berber Camel Market © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Barberinni © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Erotic Nightmare © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Dr. Seuss' "500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Great Ship © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Finger Flip © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| King In Samarkand © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Iano Hands acrylic on canvas © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Celebities pen & ink © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| The Errant Postulant acrylic on canvas © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Paddleboat © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Pena Palace - Portugal © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Polka Party © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| San Gimininano © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Sauter-Finegan Revisited album cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Serenade © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| Square Dances Vol. 1 album cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| The Skittish Horse © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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| The War of the Bands Concert EP album cover © The Heirs of James Flora, courtesy JimFlora.com |
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