Frank Modell: An Overlooked Ingredient?

“Martinis are the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.”

—H. L. Mencken

But what if the martini is not quite perfect? What if an essential ingredient has been omitted? Is it a case of a husband's unequal treatment of his wife or merely forgetfulness that we witness in a Frank Modell New Yorker cartoon from 1971? Inequality is my guess. It begins in the home, right there at the bar.

"I notice you didn't forget to put an olive in yours!"
Frank Modell
Original art
The New Yorker, May 22, 1971, page 37

Caption

Frank Modell's signature, with some foxing

Some staining or foxing to paper

Frank Modell
eBay listing ended April 15, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203348765712?hash=item2f5887ec10%3Ag%3AGP4AAOSwcCdgGwf0&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Frank Modell
eBay item description
The seller gets it all right, I believe.

Frank Modell
eBay bid history
One bidder places a bid one-and-a-half minutes before the close of the one-day auction.

[End of eBay listing]

Cartoons by Donald Reilly and Frank Modell

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1971-05-22/flipbook/036/

 

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Al Hirschfeld: Covering H. L. Mencken

Late in 2002, the New Yorker published a dizzying color illustration of author H. L. Mencken by Al Hirschfeld. It seems to be an older Hirschfeld by several decades. Given the absence of hidden Ninas, it probably predates the birth of Hirschfeld's daughter Nina in 1945.

Al Hirschfeld, H. L. Mencken
The New Yorker, December 9, 2002, p. 131

Note:  This evening, September 29, 2015 at 6:30, there will be a panel discussion entitled "The Hirschfeld Century Speaks" at the Art Students League in Manhattan.

Have you seen "The Hirschfeld Century" at the New-York Historical Society? It's a stunning exhibition, and it closes on October 12. Try not to miss it.

Al Hirschfeld's caricatures have made several appearances on this blog.

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