Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Weight of Anatol Kovarsky's World

Anatol Kovarsky's work is so classically-inspired it seems to belong on ancient Greek pottery. One of his mythological drawings was listed on eBay for a while before suddenly vanishing into that vague category of items "no longer available."

The drawing shows Atlas's dilemma as he is enticed by a woman but unable to relinquish his load. It has areas of white-out that suggest it may have been cleaned up for possible publication, yet it did not go to press. Rather, a very similar drawing to this was published  in the October 25, 1958 issue of The New Yorker. The published version has cleaner lines, but I like the energy of the loose linework in this one, particularly in the face of Atlas. Apparently, this intriguing eBay drawing is a New Yorker rough, but a rather finished one.

Anatol Kovarsky, Preliminary Artwork for The New Yorker, 
October 25, 1958, Page 47
Anatol Kovarsky, Preliminary Artwork for The New Yorker, 
October 25, 1958, Page 47
Anatol Kovarsky, Detail of Atlas. Preliminary Artwork for The New Yorker,
October 25, 1958, Page 47
Anatol Kovarsky Signature

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ORIGINAL-ANATOL-KOVARSKY-PEN-INK-DRAWING-BY-THE-FAMOUS-NEW-YORKER-CARTOONIST-/380637750143



Anatol Kovarsky, The New Yorker, 
October 25, 1958, Page 47

Anatol Kovarsky, The New Yorker, October 25, 1958, Page 47
Anatol Kovarsky, Preliminary Artwork for The New Yorker, 
October 25, 1958, Page 47

Note:  Don't miss "Anatol Kovarsky at 94: Still Drawing After All These Years," Michael Maslin's report on a recent visit to the home of Mr. Kovarsky here.

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