Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 16x12
“The voluptuous blonde bombshell just delivered a Chicago Valentine to a couple of wise guys trying to muscle in on her operation ...a hooker with a heart of hot lead instead of gold.”
I had a lot of fun painting this and learned a lot about the Thompson Submachine gun; also known as, the Chicago piano, the Chicago typewriter, Chicago Organ Grinder, and the Tommy Gun.
Gangsters and Bootleggers of the Prohibition and Depression era made this their weapon of choice. It has been referred to by one researcher as the "gun that made the twenties roar." The Thompson Model 1928 submachine gun came with a 20 or 50-round drum magazine and a .45 caliber punch.
This was the weapon used in the infamous Chicago St Valentine’s Day massacre where seven members of the North Side Irish Bugs Moran gang were mowed down by Al Capone’s South Side Italian gang.