Today would have been Ronald Searle's 92nd birthday. It's sad to start writing about this artist in the past tense, because his work has been such a vital source of ongoing wonder throughout my life. Now I'm at a loss for what can take the place of this illustrator who so deeply inspired me since my teenage years.
It has been common, in the past decade or so, for the occasional sales at Christie's South Kensington featuring the works of modern illustrators to have around twenty pictures new to the market directly from Searle, who I believe released them from his substantial archive of unsold originals. This year was distinctly different. In December, Christie's offered only two Searle originals from the secondary market. Why the change?
In the fall, Searle had been mourning the loss of his wife Monica and suffering declining health. The usual trove of breathtaking illustrations never made it to the market. To be sure, the drawings may all be gone. Searle left a substantial part of his life's work to the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hannover, Germany. I have no idea whether his estate has very much left to sell. But I do know that his output over the last six or seven decades was phenomenal, both in quality and quantity. Forgotten exceptional works will continue coming back onto the market for many years to come and, I'm sure, dazzling new generations of fans.
In the fall, Searle had been mourning the loss of his wife Monica and suffering declining health. The usual trove of breathtaking illustrations never made it to the market. To be sure, the drawings may all be gone. Searle left a substantial part of his life's work to the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hannover, Germany. I have no idea whether his estate has very much left to sell. But I do know that his output over the last six or seven decades was phenomenal, both in quality and quantity. Forgotten exceptional works will continue coming back onto the market for many years to come and, I'm sure, dazzling new generations of fans.
The first of the two offerings at Christie's December 6 sale was an automotive drawing of a well dressed woman and her schoolboy nephew that I hadn't seen before. Christie's didn't have much to say about it. I suspect it may be from this 1950's BP advertising campaign about motoring.
The market in the U.K. has been pretty keen of late for just about any works by Searle, and this one sold pretty well.
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| Ronald Searle, Is this a steam engine, Uncle? Advertisement for BP, 22 April 1953 |
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Ronald William Fordham Searle (b.1920)
'Are we in a jam Auntie?'
signed 'Ronald Searle' (lower left) and inscribed as title (under the mount)pen and brown ink 8½ x 7½ in. (21.6 x 19 cm.) Estimate
Sale 3280 Lot 428
Christie's Interiors 6 December 2011 London, South Kensington Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
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This campaign used Searle's very literate humor to increase market awareness of the product in the U.S. Say what you will, Napoleon's valet strikes me as uncommonly precious, even for a Frenchman. Here Napoleon expresses his fond appreciation of his valet's skill in acquiring the finest British socks even under wartime blockade conditions.
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Ronald William Fordham Searle (b.1920)
'His valet was a hero to Napoleon'
signed 'Ronald Searle' (lower left) and inscribed 'His valet was a hero to Napoleon' (lower right)
pen and brown ink and brown wash, on paper
14 x 8½ in. (35.6 x 21.6 cm.)
Estimate
£400 - £600
Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
Literature
New Yorker magazine, 1951, an advertisement for 'Solly Socks'.
Exhibited
London, Chris Beetles, The British Art of Illustration 1800-1994.
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| Ronald Searle, His Valet was a Hero to Napoleon Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, December 1, 1951 |
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| Ronald Searle, His Valet was a Hero to Napoleon Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, December 1, 1951 |
Here are some additional advertisements from the Allen Solly hose campaign that appeared in The New Yorker in 1951. I'm sure each and every one would hold up to the greatest historical and literary scrutiny, including this "footnote" to Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson:
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| Ronald Searle, Footnote to Boswell's "Life of Johnson" Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, October 13, 1951 |
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| Ronald Searle, Footnote to Boswell's "Life of Johnson" Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, October 13, 1951 |
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| Ronald Searle, Crowned Heads and Common Feet Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, October 27, 1951 |
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| Ronald Searle, Crowned Heads and Common Feet Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, October 27, 1951 |
Long John Silver from Treasure Island makes an appearance in the ad campaign for Allen Solly hose, which he can still wear on his remaining leg while finding another use for the second sock:
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| Ronald Searle, Long John's Other Leg Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, November 17, 1951 |
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| Ronald Searle, Long John's Other Leg Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. The New Yorker, November 17, 1951 |
Here's another ad from the campaign featuring Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester doesn't seem to be bothered by her shame as long as the socks are stylish:
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Ronald Searle, The Scarlet Letter now comes in Different Shades
Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd.
The New Yorker, November 24, 1951
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Ronald Searle, The Scarlet Letter now comes in Different Shades
Advertisement for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd.
The New Yorker, November 24, 1951
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February 17, 2013 Update:
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| Ronald Searle, George Washington Never Slept in These Original advertising art for Allen Solly & Co., Ltd. published in the New Yorker, 1951 Christie's South Kensington Original Book Illustrations July 7, 1993 Later with Chris Beetles |
Note: Never mind that it's Ronald Searle's birthday. In a perfect world, the perfect birthday gift from Ronald Searle would have been this! Check out what I posted when it was my birthday, not Searle's!
To see more of Searle's brilliant advertising work, check out the Ronald Searle Tribute Blog here, for a post including more of the BP ad campaign, and additional, larger ads for Allen Solly hose. Well, what are you waiting for?
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Terrific post! Thank you for the information. I love those sock adverts.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Uli. Congratulations to you on your participation in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" show at Galerie Ardulik in Paris. Odd time of year for this, no?
ReplyDeleteGreat finds and wonderful title! Some of your scans seem to have peculiar blurring going on ?
ReplyDeleteWhich ones are a problem, Matt?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Doc. I hadn't even considered that they'd come from the man himself. My Searle drawing will be making an appearance at Christies South Kensington later this year. Interesting to note that when I took it last month it was, at the time, the only one that had been entered for sale. In the light of the great man's death, I though that there might have been a bit of a rush. They have been indeed been appearing in dribs and drabs in regional salesrooms, so I can't believe that mine will be the only one up for grabs come Summer.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the sale, Professor. I'll be keeping an eye out for your drawing.
ReplyDelete