A proposed New Yorker cover by an artist named Lesley Crawford (1887-1963) was sold on eBay last year. It depicts a state or county fair and bears the prominent strap along the left border that indicates it was intended for the cover of the magazine. When a seller offers a painting done for the cover of the New Yorker but is "unsure if it was used," you can usually rest assured it wasn't. That's even more true if it's by an unfamiliar artist. Still, it doesn't hurt to check. The Complete Book of Covers from the New Yorker 1925-1989 is an excellent resource. I used it myself to look up the artist. Her work never appeared on the New Yorker's cover, so this work, if it was ever actually submitted, is a proposed cover, or a rejected cover in the common parlance.
There is nothing shameful about having a cover illustration rejected by the New Yorker. Art students are often asked to design covers for the magazine as assignments and then to submit them. This particular submission pleased someone enough to have it matted under glass in an overly-large frame.
There are some problems with the work. The paint is applied crudely and the spatial relations have not been worked out. For example, there is a sudden drop-off to the left of the gaming table that is hard to reconcile. The slanted plank with the unharnessed bulls is directly over the waffle stand. We should be able to see the tent with the carousel even behind the Ferris Wheel, but can't. Perhaps it is meant to show different vignettes of the fair, but they aren't clearly demarcated.
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
The Art Students League
Attempted Bloggery's Fair Play Index
03024
There is nothing shameful about having a cover illustration rejected by the New Yorker. Art students are often asked to design covers for the magazine as assignments and then to submit them. This particular submission pleased someone enough to have it matted under glass in an overly-large frame.
There are some problems with the work. The paint is applied crudely and the spatial relations have not been worked out. For example, there is a sudden drop-off to the left of the gaming table that is hard to reconcile. The slanted plank with the unharnessed bulls is directly over the waffle stand. We should be able to see the tent with the carousel even behind the Ferris Wheel, but can't. Perhaps it is meant to show different vignettes of the fair, but they aren't clearly demarcated.
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| Lesley Crawford eBay Listing Ended November 21, 2018 |
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| Lesley Crawford eBay Item Description |
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| Lesley Crawford eBay Bid History Three bidders, three bids. The second one wins. |
The artist's great niece has provided askArt.com with her biographical information. She was a student of Nicolaides, author of The Natural Way to Draw, at the Art Students League. Her painting Geraniums seems a much better application of her talent. The signature appears different, but I suspect it is the same artist.
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| Geraniums Lesley Crawford |
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| http://www.askart.com/artist/Lesley_Buckland_Crawford/120256/Lesley_Buckland_Crawford.aspx |
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
Proposed New Yorker Cover Art
The Art Students League
Attempted Bloggery's Fair Play Index
03024
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