Click image to enlarge

An Affair with Beauty - The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy

The Magic of Youth

By James Philip Head
Hardcover
Price: $23.00 | Our Price: $17.95
eBook
Price: $5.99

Format: (eBook)
ISBN 13: 9781635051629
Publisher: North Loop Books
Publication Date: 08/12/2016

Format: (Hardcover)
ISBN 13: 9781634138826
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Number of Pages: 292
Publisher: North Loop Books
Publication Date: 08/12/2016

Fame, fortune, and beautiful models—Howard Chandler Christy had them all. 

Christy was the most famous American painter of the Jazz Age, a time when an elite brotherhood of New York artists dominated the publishing world. Christy had eclipsed all of them with his “Christy Girl,” an idealized woman who redefined beauty, influenced fashion, and inspired generations of women. 

The Magic of Youth is the first book in An Affair with Beauty – The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy, a biographical trilogy of the artist’s epic life as told primarily through the eyes of his second wife, Nancy, a former Cosmopolitan model once considered to be one of the most beautiful women in America. As she reflects on her life, Nancy tells of first meeting Christy in 1912 and becoming his top model. She is captivated by his irresistible charm and the glamour of his enchanting world, but discovers that things are not always what they seem and even the great Christy has scandalous secrets.

As a freshman at the University of Maryland, Jim Head discovered a gilt-edged folio of Charles Dana Gibson’s The Social Ladder in the stacks of the campus library one night, starting him on a journey to learn more about Gibson and the “Illustrators of Beauty.” In turn, he became captivated with the talent, fame and eventual obscurity of Howard Chandler Christy, and began amassing the largest private collection of information related to the artist and his wife, Nancy. Over the years, to reveal the true untold story, he has engaged research assistants, uncovered thousands of letters and newspaper articles, and traveled throughout the US to interview dozens of people, including family members, former models, and others who knew the artist and his family. Head is a lawyer in Tysons Corner, Virginia where he concentrates in estate planning and trust and estate litigation. He lives in Chantilly, Virginia with his wife, Rita, and daughter, Christianna.

 

Click image to enlarge

An Affair with Beauty

The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy: Romantic Illusions

By James Philip Head
Dust Jacket
Price: $46.00 | Our Price: $38.00
eBook
Price: $5.99

Format: (Dust Jacket)
ISBN 13: 9781545635278
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Number of Pages: 477
Publisher: North Loop Books
Publication Date: 03/03/2019

Format: (eBook)
ISBN 13: 9781545635285
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Publisher: North Loop Books
Publication Date: 02/21/2019

During the first half of the twentieth century, an elite brotherhood of New York artists dominated the publishing world. They achieved a success equal to modern day rock stars as their illustrations appeared in best-selling novels, top-ranked newspapers, and popular magazines. Howard Chandler Christy eclipsed them all with his “Christy Girl”—the epitome of the beautiful woman—transforming Christy into a household name and the most celebrated artist in America during the Jazz Age. Scores of women lined up at his studio, seeking the fame of being a Christy Girl but also wanting something much greater—immortality. An Affair with Beauty – The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy is a brilliantly written interpretative biography, most of it seen through the eyes of Christy’s favorite model, muse, and second wife, Nancy. While Christy never gave up his quest for true beauty or painting the Christy Girl, he became the gifted portraitist to some of the most powerful and famous people of the day, including presidents, princes, movie stars, congressmen, industrialists, and living legends.

In Romantic Illusions -- the second book in the An Affair with Beauty trilogy -- Nancy's story continues as she recalls spending Christmas 1912 at the "Barracks,” Howard's Ohio mansion. There, she learns of Howard's impoverished years as an art student and his rise to fame painting the bravery of Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" during the Spanish-American War. While romance blossoms between the artist and his beautiful model, Howard is slow to seek a divorce from his estranged wife, Maebelle, jeopardizing Nancy's desires and prompting her to uncover his scandalous past. When World War I breaks out, Howard plans to return to New York City, compelling Nancy to risk everything as she reveals her true feelings for him.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jim Head moved to the Washington, D.C. area with his family at the age of six. In college, he unwittingly discovered some "Gibson Girl" drawings in the college library which set him on a course to learn more about the "Illustrato

 

Other titles by this author:
  

 

  

Please Note: Orders must be for 75 copies or less. If you need to order more than 75 copies, please split up your order. If you attempt an order over 75 copies the system will reject it.