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SMB Noir

For the Fans of Hardboiled, Pulp & Gumshoe Art

Back in 2013, our tumblr site was started and ran until 2018, when they decided it was too "adult" - too lurid, supposedly. We followed the exodus to newtumbl and four years of dedication vanished in June of 2023. That work was not only new posts but upgrades of hundreds of old tumblr posts as well. So far, there has been no way to rescue those posts, so this will be the third version of this project. And, I'll warn you in advance, I may slip in covers that are not crime or mystery but just because I like the artwork. Enjoy!

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Tag: oil on canvas

Scene of the Crime

Oil on canvas, 28 x 38 in.
Signed lower right

attributed by many as the work of Dean Cornwell but the signature doesn’t match

Posted on September 28, 2026September 17, 2026Categories Hardboiled, pulpTags oil on canvas, scene of the crimeLeave a comment on Scene of the Crime

Hide the Body

Mead Schaeffer (American, 1898-1980)
“Hide the Body”, Cosmopolitan Combined with Hearst’s International interior, January, 1939
oil on canvas, 35 x 24 inches (88.9 x 61.0 cm)
Initialed and dated lower left: MS / 33

Posted on April 27, 2026April 6, 2026Categories magazine, pulpTags mead shaeffer, oil on canvasLeave a comment on Hide the Body

B. W. ROCKEY

B. W. ROCKEY (American, 20th Century)
Crime pulp cover re-creation, dated 1937
Oil on canvas. 29.5 x 21.5 in.
Signed lower left

June 1938 issue – cover art by Jerome Rozen

Posted on April 4, 2026March 31, 2026Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, pulpTags b.w. rockey, detective story magazine, jerome rozen, oil on canvasLeave a comment on B. W. ROCKEY

July 1943 issue ~ cover art by H.J. Ward

oil on canvas, 30 x 21 in.

July 1943

cover art by H.J. Ward

better image than previously posted

[updated 7/25/25]

Posted on November 9, 2025November 2, 2025Categories crime fiction, finest kind, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, original art, pulp, updatedTags arson, e. hoffmann price, h.j. ward, oil on canvas, speed mystery magazineLeave a comment on July 1943 issue ~ cover art by H.J. Ward

August 1936 issue ~ cover art by Dalton Stevens

Oil on stretched canvas, 15 x 11 in., not signed

August 1936 issue

better image than previously posted

Posted on April 30, 2025April 14, 2025Categories Hardboiled, magazine, original art, pulp, true crimeTags dalton stevens, oil on canvas, telephone, true detective mysteriesLeave a comment on August 1936 issue ~ cover art by Dalton Stevens

June 1940 issue ~ cover art by H.J. Ward

cover art by H.J. Ward – oil on canvas, 26 x 25 inches

June 1940

[post updated 9/29/26]

Posted on April 18, 2025September 29, 2026Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, original art, pulp, weird fictionTags demon, h.j. ward, oil on canvas, red star mystery magazine, satan, top hat, tux, wizardLeave a comment on June 1940 issue ~ cover art by H.J. Ward

illustration art by Tom Lovell

Murder by Lamplight, magazine interior, 1937
Oil on canvas, 42-1/4 x 30-1/4 inches (107.3 x 76.8 cm)
Signed and dated upper right: Tom Lovell 37

Posted on November 23, 2024November 12, 2024Categories pulpTags oil on canvas, tom lovell, woman with a gunLeave a comment on illustration art by Tom Lovell

cover art by Emmett Watson

Captain’s Shot, Detective Fiction Weekly, February 25, 1939
Oil on canvas, 28 x 24 inches (71.1 x 61.0 cm)
Signed center right

Posted on August 25, 2024November 19, 2024Categories action fiction, adventure, crime fiction, Hardboiled, magazine, maritime fiction, mystery, original art, pulpTags dale clark, detective fiction weekly, emmett watson, flynn's, oil on canvas, paul ernst, richard sale, t.t. flynn, tommygunLeave a comment on cover art by Emmett Watson

cover art by Richard Lillis

Murder by the Book, Hollywood Detective, December 1944
Oil on canvas, 20 x 14 inches (50.8 x 35.6 cm)
Signed lower right

Posted on August 5, 2024July 3, 2024Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, original art, pulpTags cash, hollywood detective magazine, oil on canvas, original art, richard lillis, robert leslie bellem, woman with a gunLeave a comment on cover art by Richard Lillis

cover art by Earle K. Bergey

Dodging a Bullet, pulp cover
Oil on canvas, 35 x 25 in.
Signed lower left

Posted on July 22, 2024July 3, 2024Categories original art, pulpTags bullet holes, earle k. bergey, mirror, oil on canvasLeave a comment on cover art by Earle K. Bergey

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