Peter Arno: The Fireman's Pledge

An early cartoon original by Peter Arno was sold by Clarke Auction Gallery of Larchmont in 2020.

"Now remember your promise!"
Peter Arno
Original art
For Members Only (1935)

Arno imbues the rescue scene with all the bawdy innuendo he can muster. That fireman is surely brave, but he is no match for the mature, stout, playful, woman descending the ladder in her flimsy nightgown.

"Now remember your promise!"
Peter Arno
Framed original art
For Members Only (1935)

Alas, there is some surface loss to the original.

Conveniently, a caption has been written on the back: "Now remember you promised!"

The back of the frame

The handwritten caption differs slightly from what is printed in For Memebers Only.

The caption

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery listing of April 26, 2020

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/peter-arno-american-1904-1968-now-remember-50-c-01241b78bb

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery item description

https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/clarke/fine-art-jewelry-antiques-asian-midcentury-auction-5040?page=2#catalog

Febrary 11, 2026 Update:  The cartoon was published in the 1935 collection Peter Arno's For Members Only with the caption "Now remember your promise!" I therefore have corrected the caption slightly from "Now remember, you promised!"

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Peter Arno: Cyrano de Bergerac

In the midst of New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno's classic collection Man in the Shower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944), he provides an interlude with four full page illustrations of literary Classics: The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They are by no means typical of Arno's best work and they appeared in The American Magazine, not in The New Yorker, prior to their appearance in the book. Arno must have felt a fondness for them, but they are far from his most memorable drawings in the volume.

The illustration entitled Cyrano de Bergerac, depicting an important scene from the 1897 play by Edmund Rostand has to belong to the same series. The piece didn't make the cut for Man in the Shower and probably wasn't reprinted elsewhere.

Cyrano de Bergerac
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, July 1941, p. 52

Cyrano de Bergerac
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, July 1941, p. 52

Peter Arno's signature

Handwritten title

On December 10, the Arno drawing was offered for sale by Clarke Auction Gallery of Larchmont in the lot immediately after his composition Mother's Little Helper. They came to the market together out of an estate in Rye. The presale estimate for each was $1,000 to $1,500.

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery listing accessed December 5, 2023

https://clarkeny.com/auctions/?a=317&search=lot%2081

The artwork was sold with a hammer price of $700.

May 7, 2024 Update:  I have updated this post to reflect my current belief that this series of literary illustrations were first published in The American Magazine. I base this on a label found on the verso of Arno's illustration of Ivanhoe currently listed on eBay.

Label on the verso of Ivanhoe by Peter Arno

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116167902077itmmeta=01HX8H5EEKW470RDT8YDTDM2MJ&hash=item1b0c25837d:g:yOoAAOSwtipmNFTC&itmprp=enc%

3AAQAJAAAA4AHR5YOPgmABs10S1yMIWZyllLUrzRAYUhJHcwM7pwJIJtutIo7NV95yov607PUiYvz74P5UpgCpvq0TaRAbq%2BC6BszXmDVGrL1Tcs91YL08

N8ewYM9bZZcghjEng2r60NlrS2aNN5VWJREVaW%2B77i%2BD0DkoYAfpmmfSgKvjDXUGKw6%2FCCYA8Ben4IHgfko6VARAkIFoDWiWqxxozbXTYkDPE

xT5mXrv4IqVW9GCappp6ClMYgW2KgBq13SwqtP0SKgoUZlMbfBta67RP1QNFKMHRdcmTI%2B34N9iNKtF79uY%7Ctkp%3ABFBMsueVkepj

August 5, 2024 Update:  I have added the publication history to the captions on the original art.

Note:  This drawing by Peter Arno was probably published in The American Magazine, but when? Anyone who can provide a good citation should get in touch. Collectors take note: both published and unpublished Arno are always worth a post or two around here.

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Peter Arno: Mother's Little Helper

Peter Arno would occasionally intersperse a few more serious drawings among the brilliant cartoons in his published collections. One can't imagine they ever got anywhere near the reception that his gag cartoons did, but he no doubt was seeking some sort of artistic validation. One such drawing is Mother's Little Helper which appeared in his 1949 book Sizzling Platter. The execution is somewhat gritty and the title is evidently meant ironically. The influence of Georges Rouault is apparent.

The ink and wash drawing came up for auction in Westchester on December 10. The estimate was $1,000 to $1,500.

Peter Arno's signature

The handwritten title

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery listing accessed December 2, 2023

https://clarkeny.com/auctions/?a=317&search=lot%2080

Lot 80 was indeed sold, but not for all that much. Bidding reached just one half the low estimate.

The sober artwork is reproduced in Peter Arno's Sizzling Platter (1949) on page 70 opposite a buoyant circus drawing. 

Mother's Little Helper                                                                    Circus Lady       
Peter Arno's Sizzling Platter, pp. 70-71

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233754611406?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O4VJuWDDSW6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL

04528