Artists and their models were a frequent subject of New Yorker cartoons in years past, but not so much these days. Mary Petty's 1937 cartoon is a fine example of the genre.
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| "Dear no, Miss Mayberry—just the head." Mary Petty The New Yorker, December 4, 1937, p. 28 |
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| "Dear no, Miss Mayberry—just the head." Mary Petty The New Yorker, December 4, 1937, p. 28 |
The print of a classic Petty cartoon is on view in the exhibition "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration." The show is curated by Liza Donnelly and hangs at the Society of Illustrators in New York.
The real find there by Petty is her original cover art from the issue of July 18, 1942. The museum card reads, "Mary Petty drew this maid character, which she named 'Fay,' in many of her cartoons and covers. Fay became beloved by readers, and her voluminous bows[,] often seen on children in that time, were known as 'Petty bows.'"
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| Mary Petty Original art The New Yorker, July 18, 1942 |
What's ingenious about this wartime cover is Fay's visual transformation, through her gas mask, into a giant winged insect. The mirror that allows her to observe her own appearance enables us to see her from both front and back.
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| Mary Petty The New Yorker, July 18, 1942 |
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| With a cartoon by Mary Petty and a spot drawing |
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Note: The 1937 spot on the page opposite the Petty drawing shows a horse and carriage from above paused in the light of a Bishop's Crook street lamp. Alas, it is unsigned and the artist is, for the present, unidentified unless some sharp-eyed reader can determine otherwise.
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| Spot drawing Artist Unidentified The New Yorker, December 4, 1937, p. 29 |
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