Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Campaign Stop: Arthur Getz Preliminary New Yorker Cover Art

Arthur Getz's preliminary cover art for The New Yorker issue of October 1, 1960 depicts the height of the campaign season during a presidential election year. The candidate at the top of the boarding stairs is indistinct, but he doesn't especially resemble either Nixon or Kennedy, the Republican and Democratic nominees, respectively, for the presidency. The actual published cover zooms in on the candidate but his features remain blurry; the colors are more muted and the activity on the ground largely eliminated. For some, therefore, the bold preliminary art offered at auction in Atlanta on January 14 may be more visually satisfying than the actual published cover.


The title noted on an information sheet accompanying the work, Hail to the Chief, seems out of place. Eisenhower was still finishing up his second term as president, and he was the only person this anthem would have been appropriate for. The auction house's notion that the aircraft depicted is Air Force One seems questionable for the same reason. Both Nixon and Kennedy campaigned by air in 1960 as did numerous candidates for lower office, no doubt.

Arthur Getz
Preliminary cover art
The New Yorker, October 1, 1960


Arthur Getz's signature

Arthur Getz
Preliminary cover art
The New Yorker, October 1, 1960




Before the sale, the painting was given an auction house estimate of $3,000 to $5,000, with online bidding set to start at $1,500.
Arthur Getz
AbeBooks listing accessed January 7, 2022





The hammer price was $2,000—or $2,500 with the buyer's premium.





Arthur Getz
Preliminary cover art
The New Yorker, October 1, 1960

Arthur Getz
The New Yorker, October 1, 1960







Note:  Arthur Getz often made any number of preliminary versions of his New Yorker covers. I would like to hear from anyone in possession of other Getz variations on this cover theme. 






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