For a bracing round of politically incorrect, steamy art – some of which was banned by New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia during the 1940s – head for the Society of Illustrators between now and the end of the month.

Pulp Art: The Collection of Robert Lesser continues its run there, with both original art and copies of the pulp magazines for which these illustrations were created. The collection was started by Lesser during his college days in Chicago in the 1950s, and the exhibition was organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art. There’s a clear focus here – and it demonstrates Lesser’s appreciation for the top artists of the genre as well as the heyday of the pulps from the Great Depression into wartime.

Left to right, art by Hugh Joseph Ward, George Rozen, and Allen Anderson. Copyright The Robert Lesser Collection, courtesy Society of Illustrators.

The most popular titles are represented, including Argosy, Dime Detective, and The Shadow. Among my favorites are Spicy Detective, Spicy Mystery and Spicy Western – mainly because that brings forth two pieces by Hugh Joseph Ward, one of the top artists of the era.

Immediately on entering the gallery is a painting by Ward in which a woman, bound and hung from a meat hook, is being threatened by monstrously evil-looking man gripping a butcher’s knife. Something terrible is about to happen yet we can hope that the shadow of a gun that appears in the lower right hand corner of the painting is held by – her rescuer, perhaps?

There are some truly appalling scenes here, including a painting by Walter Baumhoper for Dime Detective, January 1937. In a composition that recalls Renaissance paintings of Christ, two brothers restrain their captive while their grandmother sews his mouth shut with a darning needle.

On an adjacent wall is another painting by Ward for Spicy Western Adventure. The wall text explains that most of the paintings on view were done very rapidly due to the low fees paid by publishers. But in this instance, Ward clearly took his time building a strong composition and rendering details that make this an outstanding piece of illustration art, with all the components of the best in pulp art. A prototypically sensuous woman is being abducted by a beefy hombre with 5 o’clock shadow while her companion, bound and gagged, looks on helplessly. This is a great example of the pulp publishers’ proven belief that sex sells – but without buyer’s remorse.

Pulp Art: The Collection of Robert Lesser continues through July 30^th at Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63^rd Street, NY, NY.

And tomorrow night, SI is holding its annual Barbeque from 7-11. $25/$35. RSVP or call 212.838.2560.