Showing posts with label "Drawn From The New Yorker". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Drawn From The New Yorker". Show all posts

Sunday, June 28, 2026

George Booth at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Cartoonist George Booth (June 28, 1926-November 1, 2022) was born one-hundred years ago today. He is best known for his work in The New Yorker, a magazine that was one year of age when he was born and that got to celebrate its own centennial last year. The Society of Illustrators held a major exhibition in honor of the magazine, "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by cartoonist Liza Donnelly. Three original Booth works were included.

Booth's cover art for the issue of February 16, 1976, has a dog and a cat sitting on an area rug facing away from each other. They are surrounded by ornate interior patterns. The animals do not seem to be paying attention to each other exactly, but then they cannot be said to be unaware of each other's presence. 
 
George Booth
Original art
The New Yorker,
February 16, 1976


George Booth
The New Yorker, February 16, 1976




A cartoon from the issue of August 13, 1973, is part of a recurring Booth scenario: a man sits in his bathtub talking about whatever is on his mind while his wife does housework. The home is illuminated by a bare light bulb and filled with cats. 

The artwork reveals Booth's use of patches on both the man and the woman to get their faces just how he wanted them. There is a pencil notation at the lower right that indicates where the signature was moved photographically for publication.

"How about supper in the tub tonight, Hon?"
George Booth
Original art
The New Yorker,
August 13, 1973, p. 78

"How about supper in the tub tonight, Hon?"
George Booth
The New Yorker,
August 13, 1973, p. 78

With a drawing by George Booth




Finally, there was a cartoon about making music and making dinner:
"Last call for stuffed peppers or I feed 'em to the dog!"
George Booth
Original art
The New Yorker, September 27, 1976, p. 37
Pussycats Need Love, Too, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1980

"Last call for stuffed peppers or I feed 'em to the dog!"
George Booth
The New Yorker, September 27, 1976, p. 37
Pussycats Need Love, Too, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1980



With a spot by Jeanine[?] and a drawing by George Booth






Note:  It turns out the stuffed peppers drawing was the subject of a blog post here four years ago for George Booth's ninety-sixth birthday.


In case you were wondering, there's a lot more Booth on the blog here. 






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Thursday, May 1, 2025

A Collaboration at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

One unusual piece on view at the Society of Illustrators on the East Side is a sequential drawing with contributions by four New Yorker artists: Mick Stevens, Roz Chast, Liza Donnelly, and Jack Ziegler—in that order. It was drawn over a lunch in the 1980s after the cartoonists dropped off their work with the cartoon editor and, of course, it did not appear in the magazine. The collaboration is in the form of a comic strip and is included in the show "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration," on view at the Society only through Saturday.





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Sunday, March 9, 2025

I. Klein at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

I. Klein's art was about contrast: black against white, curves against angularity. His sense of humor was rather striking as well.

               "Beautiful lavallière you are wearing, my dear. Those
landscape tints do become you so."             
                      "Oh, yes. I prefer marines at times, but they are so large,
and I detest heavy ornamentation."            
I. Klein
Original art
The New Yorker, June 19, 1926, p. 18



Yes, the I. was for Isidore. This original art is currently hanging at the Society of Illustrators, part of "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by Liza Donnelly—but the room with the Klein cartoon will be a part of the show for just a few more days. 
   "Beautiful lavallière you are wearing, my dear. Those landscape tints do become you so."
   "Oh, yes. I prefer marines at times, but they are so large, and I detest heavy ornamentation."
I. Klein
The New Yorker, June 19, 1926, p. 18




With a header by Rea Irvin, a drawing by I. Klein, and a Profiles portrait by an as yet unidentified illustrator



* * *

Smoking header
Rea Irvin


I've had occasion once before in 2020 to visit this page of The New Yorker and enquire about the unidentified illustrator of Hendrik Willem van Loon's portrait. It was only ninety-nine years ago; someone should be able to recognize the artist's work.
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Artist Unidentified





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Friday, March 7, 2025

Mary Petty at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

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.



"Dear no, Miss Mayberry—just the head."
Mary Petty
Print
The New Yorker, December 4, 1937, p. 28




"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.'"
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.




With a cartoon by Mary Petty and a spot drawing







* * *


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.
Spot drawing
Artist Unidentified
The New Yorker, December 4, 1937, p. 29








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Thursday, March 6, 2025

Charles Saxon at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

As the commercial airline industry boomed in the postwar period, affluent Americans did more traveling abroad, particularly in Europe. The New Yorker went with them. Charles Saxon's 1966 magazine cover depicts two older couples taking a gondola ride in Venice, a gentle subversion of our romantic expectations.

Charles Saxon
Original art
The New Yorker, June 25, 1966



Charles Saxon
The New Yorker, June 25, 1966



The original cover art is on display at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" at the Society of Illustrators. The exhibition, curated by Liza Donnelly,  also includes a print of a classic Saxon cartoon from the mid-seventies. No one captured the upper classes and their attitudes quite like Saxon.
"It was nice. Hard times give everyone such a sense of camaraderie."
Charles Saxon

Print
The New Yorker, April 7, 1975, p. 33


"It was nice. Hard times give everyone such a sense of camaraderie."
Charles Saxon

The New Yorker, April 7, 1975, p. 33



With a chess spot by TG and a cartoon by Charles Saxon





* * *


Note:  I know I asked this once before, but who is the spot artist TG?
Spot drawing of chess pieces
TG

The New Yorker, April 7, 1975, p. 32





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Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Ronald McRae at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Illustrator Ronald McRae was active in the 1920s and '30s. His sole cover for The New Yorker was published in the spring of 1926. McRae's style embraces the art deco movement that was so popular at the time. His cover art depicts a fashionably-dressed woman, seen from behind, standing on the deck of an ocean liner. Her elongated figure holds a bouquet of roses and waves a handkerchief at her male admirers on shore below. Bon voyage!

Ronald McRae
Original art
The New Yorker,
 May 15, 1926

The published cover gives an idea of what the original unfaded colors may have looked like. The folded papers that the men are grasping in the original art have been edited out of the published version.

Ronald McRae
The New Yorker, May 15, 1926




The original art is currently on display at the Society of Illustrators in New York. It is a part of the exhibition "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly.




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Sunday, March 2, 2025

Roz Chast at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Two original drawings by Roz Chast are included in the exhibition "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration." They are currently on view in New York at the Society of Illustrators. The exhibition is curated by another New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly.

Nadine's First "Ma'am"
Roz Chast
Original art
The New Yorker, November 21, 1983, p. 169

Nadine's First "Ma'am"
Roz Chast
The New Yorker, November 21, 1983, p. 169



With an advertisement for Seiko and a cartoon by Roz Chast 




The second cartoon dates from fifteen years later. By coincidence, both cartoons appeared toward the back of the magazine.
Asexual Harassment
Original art
Roz Chast
The New Yorker, October 26, 1998, p. 200 

The errant spelling of harassment was corrected in the published version.

Asexual Harassment
Roz Chast
The New Yorker, October 26, 1998, p. 200



With a drawing by Roz Chast and a spot drawing by Phillipe Petit-Roulet




* * *


March 23, 2025 Update:  Gone fishing! The artist of this unsigned, humorous spot now has been identified as Phillipe Petit-Roulet. My thanks to David Goldin for making the correct call on Facebook.
Fishing spot drawing
Phillipe Petit-Roulet
The New Yorker, October 26, 1998, p. 201





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Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Saul Steinberg at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Saul Steinberg's New Yorker cover of January 17, 1959, is one that needs to be not only seen but read. The central figure on the impossibly grandiose monument depicted is Prosperity unfettered, while the surrounding paired figures reveal so very much about the contradictions inherent in America that Steinberg observed through his immigrant's eyes. The striking original art is currently on view at the Society of Illustrators, part of the essential show "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" curated by Liza Donnelly.

Saul Steinberg
Original art
The New Yorker,
 January 17, 1959


Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, January 17, 1959



Meanwhile, the breadth of Steinberg's wildly inventive drawings inside the magazine is represented by a single image from 1963.

Saul Steinberg
Print
The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24

 


Saul Steinberg
The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24


With drawings by Saul Steinberg and Robert Day


* * *

It's not a part of the exhibition, of course, but on the printed page Steinberg's linear flight of artistic fancy is set opposite a wash drawing by Robert Day seeking humor in the not-so-humdrum daily business commute.
"A stockholder, maybe."
Robert Day

The New Yorker, February 23, 1963, p. 24




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Thursday, February 20, 2025

Anatol Kovarsky at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

The cartoonist Anatol Kovarsky is represented by one drawing in the current exhibition at the Society of Illustrators on East 63rd Street. It's a good one. The show is called "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" and it is curated by Liza Donnelly.

Anatol Kovarsky
Original art
The New Yorker,
 September 6, 1947, p. 36

Anatol Kovarsky
The New Yorker, September 6, 1947, p. 36

With a cartoon by Anatol Kovarsky and an ad for American Railroads






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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Ilonka Karasz at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

Ilonka Karasz was making beautiful covers for The New Yorker within a few weeks of its founding, and she is making beautiful covers for The New Yorker today.
—Brendan Gill
Here at The New Yorker (1975)

Ilonka Karasz is represented by one of these "beautiful covers" in the retrospective "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration" currently on view at the Society of Illustrators. Now it's off to the races.
Ilonka Karasz
Original art
The New Yorker,
 June 9, 1956


Ilonka Karasz
The New Yorker, June 9, 1956










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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Charles Addams at "Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration"

"Drawn From The New Yorker:  A Centennial Celebration" continues its run in New York City at the Society of Illustrators. Among the most popular of the many talented artists associated with The New Yorker over the past century is the splendid Charles Addams. His original cover art celebrating the new year of 1938 is set in an observatory. This is his first cover for the magazine, so it can be given for not quite looking like his later, more familiar work.

Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 1, 1938
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, January 1, 1938



Addams is also represented in the exhibition with a wordless cartoon from 1949:

Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, October 15, 1949, p. 27
Monster Rally, 1950, page 27
My Crowd, 1970, page 81


Speaking of good fortune, the Society of Illustrators has an original Addams from The New Yorker in its own collection. It is on display concurrently.
"Ready, dear?"
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 7, 1950, p. 29

"Ready, dear?"
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, January 7, 1950, p. 29


With a spot drawing of a double teapot and a cartoon by Charles Addams


Note:  The wordless 1949 Charles Addams moving day cartoon was already the subject of a post, which can be found in the blog archives here.


* * *


Of course, I'd love to hear from anyone with the uncanny ability to identify the spot artist responsible for this double cask teapot.




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