People fortunate enough to have their work featured as the subject of a New Yorker cartoon just might decide to purchase the original art for themselves. That's precisely what director Joseph L. Manciewicz did when a poster for his movie "Cleopatra," advertising it as "the motion picture the world has been waiting for," appeared in a 1963 cartoon by Rober Weber (1924-2016). Manciewicz passed away in 1993 and his estate held onto the drawing for nearly three more decades, selling the artwork only this past December.
Weber set his scene at a suburban commuter railway platform. Two well-dressed women on their way into the city regard the movie poster by Howard Terpning, which must have been ubiquitous in the summer of 1963. It depicts the stars Rex Harrison (Julius Caesar), Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), and Richard Burton (Mark Antony). The production of "Cleopatra" experienced widely-publicized delays, but the film was to become the biggest box office draw of the year.
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| "What annoys me is that I know I'm going to see it." Robert Weber Original art The New Yorker, July 20, 1963, page 21 |
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| Robert Weber Bonhams, December 8, 2021 |
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"Cleopatra" (1963) poster Howard Terpning |
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| "What annoys me is that I know I'm going to see it." Robert Weber Original art The New Yorker, July 20, 1963, page 21 |
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| An anonymous spot drawing of a dragonfly over cattails and a cartoon by Robert Weber |
Note: Robert Weber published more than 1,400 cartoons in The New Yorker over the course of his career. Yet this is only the second original New Yorker cartoon art of his to appear on this blog. (There's also a New Yorker magazine ad original for Absolut vodka. But I digress.) Where then is all his original New Yorker art? Have I been subconsciously suppressing it? Or perhaps, dear collectors, have you been deliberately keeping it from me?
By the way, if you should ever pop into Bonhams in Los Angeles, you might let them know that Bruce Weber is a fashion photographer and Robert Weber was a New Yorker cartoonist. Thank you in advance for clearing that up.
I don't really believe the artist who created that spot with the dragonfly and cattails can be identified, but by all means write if you can prove me wrong.
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