Lot 87279: GEORGE ROZEN (American, 1895-1974) The Third

GEORGE ROZEN (American, 1895-1974) The Third Skull, The Shadow pulp cover, March 15, 1935 Oil on canvas 30 x 21in. Not signed George Rozen's compelling cover, one of the most memorable and frequently reproduced covers from the height of the pulp's popularity, with its fantastic portrait of The Shadow confronting a spine-tingling "imbedded image" of a leering skull, brilliantly captures the mysterious essence of this pulp hero legend. "The third skull holds the secret to immense wealth -- the hidden fortune of Hildrew Parchell. Now that the old miser has died, someone is out to uncover that secret; someone who will not stop at murder. It will take The Shadow to unmask the hidden power behind the evil plot and prevent further murder." George Rozen replaced his twin brother Jerome as the cover artist for Street and Smith's The Shadow in 1931, and George soon established himself as The Shadow's most renowned cover artist. Under his artistic watch the title became the world's top selling pulp magazine with an estimated two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand bi-weekly sales.