Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Ralph Fasanella's Times Square

Ralph Fasanella's cover illustration for The New Yorker's 1993 issue with the "Broadway Jubilee" special section juxtaposes Times Square's vibrant past and present in a single image. Whatever the era, the area is shown with bustling vitality. Still, it's unsettling to see Hitler's name in the middle of a New Yorker cover even as a period detail ("Hitler Invades...").

Ralph Fasanella, Street of Dreams,
Original artwork for The New Yorker, May 31, 1993


 
Ralph Fasanella, Street of Dreams,
Original artwork for The New Yorker, May 31, 1993
[End of Sotheby's Listing]
 



Ralph Fasanella, Street of Dreams,
The New Yorker, May 31, 1993

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Monday, July 30, 2012

A George Grosz New York Street Scene

George Grosz's watercolor technique fascinates me. Here we have a New York Street Scene featuring both broad areas of wet-on-wet watercolor work as well as a much dryer technique for dealing with details of brickwork, windows, and fire escapes. The foreground over the left third of the paper is rendered wet and loose with little attention to detail. The central staircase and facade serves as a transitional area. The right side features a vibrant urban landscape. And, oh, that car!

George Grosz, New York Street Scene


The Sotheby's Sale


George Grosz, New York Street Scene
Note:  Check out George Grosz's French Fishermen here.

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Seth: Running the Company into the Ground

Once again, here's some original preliminary art for the future Clyde Fans, Book 2 by Seth (Gregory Gallant) which is being published piecemeal in Palookaville. Issue no. 20 shows Seth continuing to chronicle  the decline of a manufacturing business over decades.

Seth (Gregory Gallant), Clyde Fans, Part 2 preliminary art, p. 13, 
Palookaville No. 20


Seth (Gregory Gallant), Clyde Fans, Part 2 preliminary art, p. 13,
Palookaville No. 20



Note:  My previous post about Seth's artwork appears here.

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ronald Searle and Mostly Mozart

Today begins the 2012 season of New York City's  annual Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. This summer music festival was founded in 1966. Like many music festivals, it is fairly widely-known, and its clever alliterative name makes it hard to forget.

Illustrator Ronald Searle didn't forget it. He made his home in the South of France, but he used the Mostly Mozart Festival's name on two occasions to make his New Yorker submissions more reflective of the New York experience. Selling illustrations in a competitive foreign market can't be all that easy, but it helps if the local cultural scene is taken into account, particularly in a cosmopolitan market like New York.

The two ink and watercolor works sold to The New Yorker actually have nothing to do with the concerts themselves. Rather, they make use of the festival name to render Searle's typically whimsical drawings more relevant to the local scene. It seems like an obvious approach in retrospect. Of course, it helped that Searle produced great illustrations and wasn't merely name-dropping.

Searle created three versions of The New Yorker cover of August 1, 1988. One variant is similar to the published version except that the T-shirted cat is sitting upright. The artwork to both was submitted to The New Yorker, and the editors were allowed to choose which Mostly Mozart T-shirt they wanted. (As I mentioned here, Searle used the same editor-friendly approach with his 1991 Valentine's Day cat cover.)

The original published cover art was sold to William W. Lockwood, Jr., a cofounder of the Mostly Mozart Festival. At the time, he was executive producer for programming at Lincoln Center.


Ronald Searle, The New Yorker, August 1, 1988

The third variant, below, almost certainly the earliest, depicts an outdoor music festival with a similar bird in a similar tree performing from sheet music. The concert is attended by innumerable cats, all of whom are moved by the music to tears. There is no specific mention of Mostly Mozart.

Ronald Searle, [Mozartean Cats], 1988

So how many illustrators can sell two Mostly Mozart gags to The New Yorker? Only Searle, so far. With any cat artwork, Searle played to his strengths, but he was also exceedingly good with architecture, ornament, and costume, as the following illustration shows. The New Yorker cover illustration may have added Mostly Mozart as an afterthought, but the illustration for Sour Notes must have been a Mostly Mozart gag from its inception. Word balloons are not that common in Searle's work, but in the 1990's he used them in a few New Yorker submissions, such as the Great Moments in Music series.

Ronald Searle, Sour Notes,
The New Yorker, July 12, 1993, p. 57

September 28, 2014 Update: It seems Ronald Searle reimagined a St. Trinian's gag of his from forty years earlier.
Ronald Searle, "Ruddy music lessons..."
1953

Reproduced in 
Musica. Una breve introduzione
By Nicholas Cook, 1998 and 2005



Ronald Searle, "Ruddy music lessons..!"
1953



Note:  My previous Ronald Searle post, "St. Trinian's in Rome," appears here. 

There are no previous Mozart posts. I'm concerned he might be just a fad.

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Friday, July 27, 2012

Band Concert Mickey by Les Clark

This animation drawing of Mickey Mouse from Walt Disney's "The Band Concert" (1935) is the work of animator Les Clark, who was the first of Disney's "Nine Old Men." It comes from Clark's private collection and was sold at Heritage Auctions in 2006 for what seems to me a quite reasonable price. The drawing has clean lines and shading.

Les Clark, Mickey Mouse Animation Drawing from Walt Disney's "The Band Concert" (1935)

The Sale at Heritage Auctions
Les Clark, Mickey Mouse Animation Drawing from Walt Disney's "The Band Concert" (1935)

December 29, 2013 Update:  The drawing does not appear to correspond to any of the frames in the film. The action depicted occurs at about 1:45.
Walt Disney's "The Band Concert" (1935)
Video added December 29, 2013


Note:  My previous Disney post can be found here.

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

A Soup Can from Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, like many artists, often made souvenir drawings when he inscribed copies of his books. Here is his iconic Campbell's soup can reduced to its barest essentials in a copy of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975).

Andy Warhol
(American, 1928-1987)
Soupcan


signed 'Andy Warhol' (lower centre) and inscribed 'To Tina' (upper left)
felt-tip pen on title page of book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (from A to B and back again), the first edition book by Andy Warhol in hard-cover, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York and London.
8¼ x 5 in. (21 x 12.8 cm.) 

Price Realized 
    £2,250
  • ($3,620)
  • Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.
Estimate
    £2,000 - £3,000
  • ($3,100 - $4,500)

Sale Information

Sale 2589 Lot 470
6 September 2011 
London, South Kensington 

Note:  My most recent post on Andy Warhol's Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century can be found here.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

J. C. Duffy on the Couch

The original artwork for this amusing cartoon by J. C. Duffy was sold on eBay in April. The cartoon is a bit wordy, but does that justify the editorial decision to take the word Doctor out of the caption? I've been reading the caption to myself both ways, and I prefer the longer version that the artist wrote. I think it has a better rhythm.

J. C. Duffy, "I really don't see how giving you a six-letter word for a
sixteenth-century crested metal helmet helps my problem, Doctor."

Original artwork for The New Yorker, July 26, 1999, p. 64

J. C. Duffy, "I really don't see how giving you a six-letter word for a
sixteenth-century crested metal helmet helps my problem."

The New Yorker, July 26, 1999, p. 64

J. C. Duffy Cartoon, eBay Winning Bid
J. C. Duffy Cartoon, eBay Item Description
J. C. Duffy, "I really don't see how giving you a six-letter word for a
sixteenth-century crested metal helmet helps my problem."

The New Yorker, July 26, 1999, p. 64

J. C. Duffy, "I really don't see how giving you a six-letter word for a
sixteenth-century crested metal helmet helps my problem, Doctor."

Original artwork for The New Yorker, July 26, 1999, p. 64


Note:  My previous post on J. C. Duffy can be found here.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Roz Chast and the Death of the Blues

This original cartoon art by Roz Chast was published in The New Yorker in 1992. "The Death of the Blues" is proclaimed as "Mr. Positive Sings Your Favorite Songs of Cheer." By the time this was published, long-playing vinyl records had already been largely replaced by compact discs, so the inclusion of the LP here is deliberately retro.

The eBay seller had tried to start the bidding at $1,000 with a higher, undisclosed reserve, but ultimately the artwork was sold for about $800 with only one bid.

Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues,
Original artwork published in The New Yorker, January 6, 1992, Page 53

Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues,
Original framed and matted artwork published in The New Yorker, January 6, 1992, Page 53

Roz Chast's The Death of the Blues, eBay Winning Bid, June 15, 2012


Roz Chast's The Death of the Blues, eBay listing for over $1,000, May 29, 2012


Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues, eBay Item Description
Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues,
The New Yorker,
January 6, 1992, Page 53

Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues,
The New Yorker,
 January 6, 1992, Page 53

Roz Chast, The Death of the Blues,
Original artwork published in The New Yorker, January 6, 1992, Page 53

Note:  My previous post about Roz Chast's The Reassurer appears here.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Sierra Leone Mickey Mouse Magazine Stamps

Six examples of Mickey Mouse Magazine cover artwork are featured on 1992 postage stamps from Sierra Leone. The country gets to use this great classic Disney artwork on their stamps, while Disney gets to strengthen their brand without even having to create new artwork. Win-win, I'd say. The stamps, Scott Catalogue nos. 1568 to 1573, are available on eBay for $1.50 plus $2.00 shipping.

Postage Stamps from Sierra Leone Featuring Mickey Mouse Magazine Covers

Postage Stamps from Sierra Leone Featuring Mickey Mouse Magazine Covers eBay Listing

Mickey Mouse Magazine, March 1936, Vol. 1, No. 6
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICKEY-MOUSE-MAGAZINE-VOLUME-1-6-VERY-FINE-8-0-/220957618010?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item337219af5a#ht_500wt_1180

Mickey Mouse Magazine, June 1936, Vol. 1, No. 9






Postcard of the Cover of Mickey Mouse Magazine, November 1936, Vol. 2, No. 2


Mickey Mouse Magazine, August 1937, Vol. 2, No. 11

Mickey Mouse Magazine October 1937, Vol. 2, No. 13

Mickey Mouse Magazine December 1937, Vol. 3, No. 3


Note:  My most recent Disney post can be found here.

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

B. Kliban: Walking to Work

Two men walking to work encounter otherworldly delights in this cartoon by B. Kliban that was published posthumously in Playboy. The original artwork was offered at auction last year at Illustration House.

Sale Dec. 10, 2011

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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Childe Hassam's The Bathers

I always advise people to bring swimsuits when going bathing, because you never know when some Impressionist will come along and paint you! Here the American Impressionist Childe Hassam captures two bathers on a beautiful sunlit day.



Childe Hassam, The Bathers


Note:  Are we too far away? You can catch a gorgeous bather by Renoir up close and personal here.

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