Shore Leave: Constantin Alajálov New Yorker Cover Art

In 1945, merely a couple of weeks after Victory in Europe Day, the New Yorker published this cover art by the gifted Russian artist Constantin Alajálov. The artwork was just sold on eBay for $5,000. The seller did a very good job describing the artwork and the specific moment in history it evokes. Let's first take a look at the sale and the seller's item description:

Constantin Alajálov, Original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Constantin Alajálov, Original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Constantin Alajálov, Framed original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Constantin Alajálov's signature

Constantin Alajálov, Detail of original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Constantin Alajálov, Detail of original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Constantin-Alajalov-1945-New-Yorker-cover-painting-Russian-artist-Zoo-NYC-/151265125601?nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[End of eBay listing]

One thing that can be said for Alajálov's New Yorker covers is that they don't simply meet our expectations. The best ones possess an uncanny ability to surprise and delight. Imagine it was your assignment to design a magazine cover that would hit newsstands a couple of weeks after V-E Day. How would you illustrate the excitement and expectancy for a return to normal peacetime pleasures at a time when the nation was still technically mobilized for war? Would you set your cover at a military base? Somewhere in Europe? At sea? When you consider these possibilities, the simple idea of depicting numerous enlisted men and WAC's in uniform on shore leave enjoying the mundane delights of a day at the zoo is truly inspired.

Constantin Alajálov, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

The composition could not have been an easy one to create. What could be more challenging than painting an aerial view of a crowd scene? The technical challenges have all been met splendidly, of course. Yet the image overwhelms the viewer not with its artistic bravura, but with its normalcy. This is a celebration of soldiers with nothing to do but await their return to civilian life while actually enjoying a spring day at the zoo. How sublime!

So the eBay seller is right, at least in part, in saying "The real subject is not the zoo." But the zoo is extremely important as the setting, and it is not just any zoo; it's the Central Park Zoo in New York City. The cover's view of the seal pool faces to the southwest giving the composition strong diagonals. A couple of vintage photos show the site as it was:

The seal pool, Central Park Zoo, 1940's, facing west.
The umbrellas in the background can be seen on the upper right side of the Alajálov cover.
Photo from the City of New York's Parks and Recreation Department

http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/category/animals-with-jobs/page/2/

The seal pool in the Central Park Zoo, facing to the west, ground level.
The aviary on the left is a prominent feature of the New Yorker cover.
Photo from the Wurts Bros. Collection from The New York Public Library

http://www.nytstore.com/1/1/6398-central-park-zoo-nypl1558538.html

The approximate view of the Central Park Zoo as seen on Google Earth today

Constantin Alajálov, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Constantin Alajálov, Original cover artwork, The New Yorker, May 26, 1945

Note:  Read more on Constantin Alajálov here.

Additional examples of original New Yorker cover art may be seen here.

See older posts in celebration of on National Library Week here.

Posts about Passover may be found here.

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