This year marks the 25th anniversary of the memorable Absolut Vodka Cartoon Contest in the New Yorker. Since the early 1980's, countless talented artists have contributed to a series of remarkable ads for this campaign. In 1991, New Yorker readers were offered the chance to appear in an Absolut advertisement to be published in the magazine. All they had to do was create a New Yorker-style cartoon—and win the contest.
Unlike today's caption contest, entrants were called upon to conceive the drawing as well as the concept, which might or might not include a caption. As a guide to how this could be approached, no fewer than ten New Yorker cartoonists each created a full page advertisement for the campaign. They all appeared together in the June 10, 1991 issue along with the contest announcement, the rules, and a tantalizingly blank page labeled Absolut Cartoon.
Last year, original art from this campaign was sold on eBay. I managed to preserve some of it for posterity.
Absolut Hamilton:
Absolut Weber:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
After the sale, two fascinating details showing white-out and corrections appeared on David Apatoff's Illustration Art blog:
Absolut Ziegler:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Absolut Lorenz:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Absolut Barsotti:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Absolut Chast:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Absolut Koren:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
August 3, 2018 Update: The original art by Danny Shanahan, which presumably got by me in 2014, is now back on eBay sans frame. The seller calls it an "Original Artwork Study created for the Absolut Cartoon Collection." It appears to be the original art and not a study; it has the same matte as the other artists' cartoons for the campaign.
Note: Well, that should do it for today. The aqua links below lead to further bloggery on these artists. Cheers!
Unlike today's caption contest, entrants were called upon to conceive the drawing as well as the concept, which might or might not include a caption. As a guide to how this could be approached, no fewer than ten New Yorker cartoonists each created a full page advertisement for the campaign. They all appeared together in the June 10, 1991 issue along with the contest announcement, the rules, and a tantalizingly blank page labeled Absolut Cartoon.
 |
| "Appearances seem to indicate that they were quite civilized." Absolut Weber. Robert Weber The New Yorker, June 10, 1991, page 51 |
 |
| "Absolut Janie, Absolut Herb." Absolut Chast. Absolut Hamilton. Roz Chast William Hamilton |
 |
| Absolut Quandary "Absolut sublime." Absolut Roberts. Absolut Koren. Victoria Roberts Edward Koren |
 |
"Now that's an Absolut monarch!" "I'm pleased to report that both East and West
are in full agreement on all issues."
Absolut Lorenz. Absolut Richter.Lee Lorenz Mischa Richter |
 |
| "I came. I saw. I had the Absolute on the rocks" Absolut Ziegler. Absolut Shanahan. Jack Ziegler Danny Shanahan |
 |
| See Your Absolut Vodka Cartoon in the New Yorker Absolut Cartoon. |
 |
| "O.K., C.S., are you ready to deal big-time?" Absolut Barsotti. Charles Barsotti |
Absolut Hamilton:
 |
| EBay Listing Ended January 13, 2015 |
 |
| EBay Item Description |
|
| Absolut Hamilton added January 6, 2016 |
William Hamilton's drawing references classic Absolut ads by Andy Warhol and Ed Ruscha.
 |
| Absolut Artists. |
Absolut Weber:
After the sale, two fascinating details showing white-out and corrections appeared on David Apatoff's Illustration Art blog:
 |
| Detail |
 |
| Detail |
 |
| EBay Listing Ended November 5, 2014 |
Absolut Ziegler:
.JPG) |
| Jack Ziegler's signature |
 |
EBay Listing Ended May 23, 2014
|
 |
| EBay Listing Ended December 25, 2014 |
 |
| Sold! |
Absolut Lorenz:
Absolut Barsotti:
Absolut Chast:
.JPG) |
| Rob Chast's signature |
 |
| http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roz-Chast-New-Yorker-Magazine-Cartoonist-Published-Original-Absolut-Vodka-Ad-/301141938952?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item461d755308&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 |
Absolut Koren:
And the contest winner is...
 |
| "I see you have connections with the spirit world." Absolut Gomez Loretta Gomez The New Yorker, December 16, 1991, p. 37 |
January 6, 2016 Update: The original artwork by Victoria Roberts was sold October 7, 2014 on eBay with a Make Offer price of $125. I did not preserve this sale.
August 3, 2018 Update: The original art by Danny Shanahan, which presumably got by me in 2014, is now back on eBay sans frame. The seller calls it an "Original Artwork Study created for the Absolut Cartoon Collection." It appears to be the original art and not a study; it has the same matte as the other artists' cartoons for the campaign.
 |
| Absolut Shanahan Danny Shanahan Original advertising art The New Yorker, June 10, 1991 |
 |
| Absolut Shanahan Danny Shanahan The New Yorker, June 10, 1991 |
 |
| Absolut Shanahan Danny Shanahan Original advertising art The New Yorker, June 10, 1991 |
 |
| Danny Shanahan's signature |
 |
| Danny Shanahan eBay Listing Retrieved August 2, 2018 |
 |
| Danny Shanahan eBay Item Description "Original Artwork Study" Retrieved August 2, 2018 |
 |
| Sold for a Best Offer of $100
Image added August 5, 2018
|
Note: Well, that should do it for today. The aqua links below lead to further bloggery on these artists. Cheers!
01737
No comments:
Post a Comment