Thursday, February 7, 2019

Helen E. Hokinson: Not at Home

Ready or not, here we come! Helen E. Hokinson's society lady from a 1938 New Yorker cartoon feels it necessary to inform her housemaid that she is not prepared to receive us. The maid might have been able to figure that out for herself. This is one of four Hokinson originals offered at auction by Doyle New York this past November.

The faces are important here, which is why there is empty space behind both of them. The matron's face is the more crucial to the gag; our eyes are led down to it by the wind lines from the fan and the site line from the maid.

"Agnes, I'm not at home to ANYONE!"
Helen E. Hokinson
Original art published as
"Agnes, I'm not at home to anyone."
The New Yorker, August 6, 1938, page 15

Doyle New York
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
November 13, 2018
Sale 18BP02, Lot 6

Cartoons by Syd Hoff and Helen E. Hokinson






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