Author: Seattle Mystery Bookshop

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cover art by George Gross

George Gross (American, 1909-2003)
oil on canvas, 16-1/2 x 12-1/8 inches (41.9 x 30.8 cm) (image), not signed

George Gross originally created this work for use as the cover of the October, 1952 issue of the pulp digest Special Detective. After publication, as was a common practice, he reworked the background slightly, adding grey curtains to the upper edges of the scene.

[cover updated 5/22/26]

In this final form, the work got a second life as paperback cover art for The Mistress by Colin Ross (Beacon Books, 1958).