Ronald Searle: The Devil Goes to Peyton Place

The James Cox Gallery of Willow, New York, sold an original drawing by Ronald Searle (1920-2011) on Sunday. The town, by the way, is just a short ride from Woodstock.

The illustration shows the devil, all in red and carrying a pitchfork, greeting two elderly men on a commercial street by the seaside. The men, pleased to see him, wave back. Both of them carry canes. The devil wears a T-shirt emblazoned with the name "Peyton Place." Behind him is the Peyton Professional Building. Skeletons peek out from the shop windows. The art is signed only with Searle's initials suggesting, perhaps, it might not appear very large on the printed page. The full sheet reveals the artist's instructions to the printer at the lower left: "Fit in where possible on pages C or D." Were there other Searle illustrations on other lettered pages?

The work is dated 1967, evidently on the back. We are given no information as to where it might have been published.

Ronald Searle's initials

The context is not entirely clear, but the drawing does show the outdoor set of the "Peyton Place" television show, which had recently made the switch from black and white to color. The devil may be a reference to the controversial sexual content of the show. The skeletons might suggest that the two older men made some sort of bargain with the devil.

Detail of the three figures

The original art hit the auction block on Sunday with a presale estimate of $600 to $800.

Ronald Searle
James Cox Gallery listing accessed May 28, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/RONALD-SEARLE-ENGLISH,-1920-2011-9-c-E9146E79F1?utm_term=ronald%20searle&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=345278&utm_term=345278

Ronald Searle
James Cox Gallery item description

Sold!

A photo of the "Peyton Place" television show's outdoor set shows some of the architectural elements just as Searle drew them. It seems very likely he worked out the drawing on the set.

https://jannaludlow.co.uk/Television/PP_the_Set.html

Note:  Any reader who may have seen this drawing in print should let me know. Maybe it's a thus far overlooked illustration for TV Guide. Maybe not. In the meantime, by all means think of Attempted Bloggery as a place to post images of your devilish original art by Ronald Searle. I await your submission, wearing Prada. 

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