Daniel Sayre Groesbeck (1878-1950) A concept design for Unconquered (dir. Cecil B. DeMille, 1947) signed 'DAN SAYRE GROESBECK' (lower left) watercolour and pencil 53 x 67cm Provenance: With Charles Spencer Gallery, London Exhibited: BAFTA, March 1983 Daniel Sayre Groesbeck was born at a pivotal and hugely explosive moment in the well-established tradition of American illustration and advertising. Born in 1879, as a young man Groesbeck would have witnessed the birth of the so-called ‘golden age’ of American illustration, which began in the late 19th century and culminated with the works of Norman Rockwell in the mid-20th century. Precipitated by enormous advancements in colour printing, increasing railroad and postal interconnectivity allowing the wider and faster dissemination of print media, and a voracious public appetite, the demand for highly skilled representational artists for advertisements, magazines and literature was at an all-time high. Identifying this burgeoning marketplace, in 1900 Groesbeck, a largely self-taught artist, began working for the Los Angeles Morning Herald, with his early illustrations appearing in Pearson’s Magazine, Colliers and the Illustrated Sunday Magazine. After moving from California to Chicago in 1913, Groesbeck worked for the Illinois Lithographing Company where he designed posters for film companies until 1917. In 1920, having served for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Russia between 1918 and 1919, Groesbeck returned to Los Angeles where he established himself as a successful painter and printmaker, working for the advertising firm Foster & Kleiser, and exhibiting in several influential Los Angeles galleries. It was during this time that Groesbeck caught the attention of eminent film director, Cecil B. DeMille. It was in this partnership with DeMille that Groesbeck came to be regarded as a pioneering figure in the translation of the pictorial traditions of American illustration from the pages of books and magazines to the increasingly popular and accessible silver screen. Known as DeMille’s favourite concept artist, Groesbeck was commissioned on several of his major features, including: The Ten Commandments, 1923, The Volga Boatman, 1926, The King of Kings, 1927, The Buccaneer, 1938, Union Pacific, 1939, Reap the Wild Wind, 1942, Samson and Delilah, 1949 and, as demonstrated by the present lot, The Unconquered, 1947. In his capacity as concept artist, Groesbeck was responsible for producing small preliminary sketches showing variant poses for a scene, story-board sequences, sketches to develop ideas for individual characters, fully developed watercolours of scenes and, finally, post-production watercolours which were used for exhibition and premier promotions. Unlike many Hollywood artists of the day, the majority of Groesbeck’s cinematic designs were retained by the DeMille archives and as such, were largely unknown until recently.