1959 Mixed Media Nude Drawing by Gene Szafran

A 1959 mixed media nude drawing by the American artist Gene Szafran (1941-2011). Composed of watercolor, ink, and charcoal, this stylized portrait depicts a kneeling female figure with dark hair. Signed and dated to the bottom right, the drawing is displayed in a wooden frame and a cream mat.

Born in Detroit, Szafran studied at the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit. He later went on to teach there as well as at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Szafran worked as an illustrator for major publications such as McCalls, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Bantam Books, and others. In 1970, he started illustrating the covers of science fiction books, which is what he is most well known for.