Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Class Visit to The Luncheon on the Grass

Edouard Manet's masterpiece Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, or The Luncheon on the Grass, features prominently in a 1957 cartoon by Whitney Darrow, Jr., published in The New Yorker. Darrow's drawing is not about the painting, exactly, although he renders it quite beautifully; rather, it's about us and our discomfort with challenging subject matter. Darrow's splendid original came up for sale this month in Costa Mesa with a reasonable $1,200 to $1,500 estimate. Inexplicably, it took three separate weekend auctions for the cartoon to meet its reserve of, presumably, $800.

"Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, May 4, 1957, page 31.
Darrow, Whitney, Jr. "Stop, Miss!" New York: Random House, 1957.
The New Yorker Album of Art & Artists. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1970.
The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975. New York: Viking Press, 1975.

"Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, May 4, 1957, page 31.
Darrow, Whitney, Jr. "Stop, Miss!" New York: Random House, 1957.
The New Yorker Album of Art & Artists. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1970.
The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975. New York: Viking Press, 1975.

Detail

The signature of Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Caption

Verso

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Michael's Gallery auction of June 17, 2023

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/154439738_whitney-darrow-jr-well-it-was-sort-of-like-a-cook-out-signed-original-ink-wash

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Michael's Gallery item description

On June 4, the bidding for lot 648 reached $650. The piece was bought in. 

On June 11, bidding again reached $650 but again the reserve was not met.

Finally, on June 17, the drawing sold for $800, plus $120 for the buyer's premium.

"Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, May 4, 1957, page 31.
Darrow, Whitney, Jr. "Stop, Miss!" New York: Random House, 1957.
The New Yorker Album of Art & Artists. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1970.
The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975. New York: Viking Press, 1975.

"Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
The New Yorker, May 4, 1957, page 31.

A cartoon by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1957-05-04/flipbook/030/

Darrow, Whitney, Jr. "Stop, Miss!" New York: Random House, 1957
Back cover dust jacket

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134175180532

The New Yorker Album of Art & Artists. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1970.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265212122238

The New Yorker Album of Drawings 1925-1975. New York: Viking Press, 1975.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/372793381003

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_D%C3%A9jeuner_sur_l%27herbe

Note:  Take this as a friendly reminder that Attempted Bloggery's proprietor is always eager to post original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr. Or by Edouard Manet, for that matter, if that's what you've got on your walls. 

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Marge and Bob's Copy of "Stop, Miss!"

A drawing of an astronaut striding purposely forward and carrying a sign to hang is printed in the front of the 1957 collection "Stop, Miss!" by Whitney Darrow, Jr. He typically would personalize copies of this collection by further embellishing this image, for example by adding a billboard naming the recipient.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957), page 1

Marge and Bob's personalized copy is unique. Although it is a first edition, Darrow dated the inscription in Wilton, Connecticut, September 10, 1973, some sixteen years after publication. Evidently Darrow created this in his home studio in Wilton.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957) with a watercolor drawing inscribed "For Marge + Bob with Love From —Whitney—>(+ Middy)(+ Toby)/Wilton Conn/Sept 10 —1973"

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Etsy Listing Accessed June 25, 2020

https://www.etsy.com/listing/492306108/stop-miss-by-whitney-darrow-jr-signed

Note:  This is the third personalized copy of "Stop, Miss!" to appear on this blog. The copy belonging to Darrow's Random House editor Pat Read has a full page watercolor with the astronaut himself relegated to a billboard above a brick wall (which bears the inscription) in a city park with a boy and a girl. Cartoonist Roy Doty's copy, curiously, also dates from 1973.

Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of books with original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Who were Marge and Bob?

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Original Drawings in Books

Attempted Bloggery's Edenic Index

   

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Seeds of Future Delight

Few if any cartoonists were more skilled than Whitney Darrow, Jr. at creating original souvenir drawings in books. He could add color and even verse seemingly with little effort. Here are four such personalized books from the library of Pat Read, Darrow's editor at Random House. The set is currently available on AbeBooks and it can be yours for $4,800, give or take a few nickels.

Set of four cartoon collections by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"You're Sitting on my Eyelashes" (1943) inscribed with two limericks and an original drawing of an African mother and three children with a sign reading "From Whitney, September 26 - '43."
The first stanza:
"I'm giving this book to the Reads
With hopes that the pictures are seeds
Of future delight
Far into the night--
(Which is all that anyone needs)."

Ex-collection Pat Read

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Please Pass the Hostess" (1949) with a drawing inscribed "For Pat, Clif and Sheila with Love from Whitney 9/21/49"

Ex-collection Pat Read

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957) with a watercolor drawing inscribed "Merry Christmas to Pat from Whitney"

Ex-collection Pat Read

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Give Up? (1966) with a drawing of a woman with a hatpin inscribed "To Pat with Love from Whitney 11/8/66"

Ex-collection Pat Read

AbeBooks Listing

abebooks.com

Note:  Blog posts about Whitney Darrow, Jr. are a dime a dozen around here. Actually, they're free. Go read as many as you like.

Do you know what Martha Stewart should say about any signed book with an original drawing? She should say it's a good thing.

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Whitney Darrow, Jr. for Roy Doty

"Stop, Miss!" is a 1957 collection of cartoons by Whitney Darrow, Jr. The book opens with a drawing of an astronaut carrying a sign and a hammer, a reference to the title cartoon.

Whitney Darrow, Jr. 
Stop, Miss!" (1957), page 1

In 1973, Darrow inscribed a copy to cartoonist Roy Doty. He modified the printed drawing by adding a billboard sign, some paint brushes, and a can of paint. This personalized copy was sold in March on eBay.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.

"Stop, Miss!" (1957) inscribed with a drawing of a sign and added paintbrushes and paint can "To Roy Doty—As funny as he is fast. 1/5/73 from Whitney Darrow Jr."

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
"Stop, Miss!" (1957)
Dust Jacket

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
"Stop, Miss!" (1957)
Board Cover

eBay Listing Ended March 3, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Drawing-by-Whitney-Darrow-Jr-in-Stop-Miss-New-Yorker-Cartoonist-/391065531157?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0d527315&nma=true&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

EBay Item Description

eBay Bid History

The top bid is less than a full bidding increment above the other bid because the higher bid was placed first. Had the order of bidding been reversed, the $52 bid would have won because $52.52 is not a full bidding increment above it. Both bids were placed in the final 18 seconds of the auction.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.,
"Stop, Miss!" inscribed with a drawing of a sign and added paintbrushes and paint can "To Roy Doty—As funny as he is fast. 1/5/73 from Whitney Darrow Jr."

Note:  If I were in your shoes and I had a choice between reading more of my blog posts about Whitney Darrow, Jr. or more posts about signed books with original drawings, I would choose both.

Then I would check out Darrow's work on Chris Wheeler's site. Would I steer you wrong?

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