Donald Reilly: Life Can Be Good

In an original New Yorker cartoon from the summer of 1978, Donald Reilly's boater muses on how "Life can be good . . ."

"Life can be good, I've found. It all depends on the product,
the media mix, and the demographics."
Donald Reilly
Framed original art
The New Yorker, August 21, 1978, p. 27

It's a very breezy, loose drawing.

Donald Reilly's signature

The handwritten caption

Hmm. Is the mite included for scale?

Donald Reilly
eBay listing ended May 23, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294647743603?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01K26BM1S185R71396XZA8CJ7X&hash=item449a5fc473:g:o4YAAOSwUVBhtAvV&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eFPYSOqLno447W%2B2OBisseB2qi6M%2FAcHEB1hmo2yIHUvlmnPv0b0REDgMt4I237HMk%2B

%2FzTF7wRdJRcwrU0hnPEOsRkOokmWm2cnlNiHaFwF4%2FgNFvbWbjmS%2BkCk%2FmQADwLQwXfmZa5Xe9SRwAScKrne%2F9A6cfMLExslXNzNGChroAz6NHgtHTFf3NujWMvOqZS3Pv9WyctvvxjnRjzI2j4YAdsvL9bb693Q%2FshY82S4Eryll3vaLUnhaRUNeSAMm4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9yc0MuRZg

The eBay seller may have misspelled the name of this piece's original owner. It seems to have come from the collection of American expressionist painter Harry Shoulberg (1903-1995).

Donald Reily
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

"Life can be good, I've found. It all depends on the product,
the media mix, and the demographics."
Donald Reilly
The New Yorker, August 21, 1978, p. 27

"Life can be good, I've found. It all depends on the product,
the media mix, and the demographics."
Donald Reilly
Framed original art
The New Yorker, August 21, 1978, p. 27

With drawings by Dana Fradon and Donald Reilly

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1978-08-21/flipbook/026/

* * *

The clever cartoon on the page opposite is by Dana Fradon.

"Do you know what your problem is? You can only

move one square at a time."

Dana Fradon

The New Yorker, August 21, 1978, p. 26

Checkmate!

05027

Donald Reilly: On Getting Accepted to Smith College

Cartoonist Donald Reilly's drawing from the July 24, 1971, issue of The New Yorker is one I find a little unsettling even today.

"I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the
moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there
who will be your friends for life."
Donald Reilly
Original art
The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70

Reilly's use of bold lines and wash works well in the background but also on the figures. He rather expertly contrasts the mother and daughter in dress, hairstyle, and attitude. Finally, the mother's awkward attempt to use her daughter's language gives this cartoon its unusual aftertaste.

"I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the
moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there
who will be your friends for life."
Donald Reilly
Framed original art
The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70

Donald Reilly
Swann Galleries listing of June 5, 2018

https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/(THE-NEW-YORKER--CARTOON)-DONALD-REILLY-I-realize-acceptance?saleno=2480&lotNo=254&refNo=744911

"I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life."
Donald Reilly
The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70

"I realize acceptance at Smith means little to you at the moment, dear, but you'll see—you'll meet freaks there who will be your friends for life."
Donald Reilly
Original art
The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70

With a spot drawing of books and a cartoon by Donald Reilly

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1971-07-24/flipbook/070/

* * *

The spot drawing is signed, but I can't make out the signature.

Artist Unidentified
Spot drawing
The New Yorker, July 24, 1971, p. 70

04922

Roz Chast: Presidents' Day Sale

The Purple Pussycat Boutique, Roz Chast's fictitious sex shop, is based on the Pink Pussycat Boutique located on West 4th Street in the Village. The gag in which the store appeared was published in The New Yorker of February 9, 1998, when the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was making headlines. The drawing was part of an unusual two-page cartoon feature with multiple contributors called "Further Revelations."

The original art was sold by the Cartoon Bank in August of 2000 with a stated valuation of $1,200. It was first offered on eBay in November of 2020. The asking price was $1,500 in April of 2021, but it subsequently came down to $1,100. It sold in August 2021 for an undisclosed best offer. Comparison of the original art with the published cartoon reveals that the magazine corrected the placement of the apostrophe in Presidents' Day.

Roz Chast
Original art
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast's signature

The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast
eBay listing ended August 9, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/402990611165?mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=e1fea423d8a04ca1b090bcf396bb6410&bu=43186000575&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20210718121745&segname=11060&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid&nma=true&si=64J6TuENCQvl%252FEQuIbsoMEcDQlw%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Roz Chast
eBay item description

Roz Chast
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

Roz Chast
Original art
The New Yorker, February 9, 1998, page 71

"Further Revelations"
Cartoons by Peter Steiner, Donald Reilly, Danny Shanahan, Edward Frascino, Roz Chast, and Bob Mankoff

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1998-02-09/flipbook/070/

03880

Frank Modell: An Overlooked Ingredient?

“Martinis are the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.”

—H. L. Mencken

But what if the martini is not quite perfect? What if an essential ingredient has been omitted? Is it a case of a husband's unequal treatment of his wife or merely forgetfulness that we witness in a Frank Modell New Yorker cartoon from 1971? Inequality is my guess. It begins in the home, right there at the bar.

"I notice you didn't forget to put an olive in yours!"
Frank Modell
Original art
The New Yorker, May 22, 1971, page 37

Caption

Frank Modell's signature, with some foxing

Some staining or foxing to paper

Frank Modell
eBay listing ended April 15, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203348765712?hash=item2f5887ec10%3Ag%3AGP4AAOSwcCdgGwf0&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Frank Modell
eBay item description
The seller gets it all right, I believe.

Frank Modell
eBay bid history
One bidder places a bid one-and-a-half minutes before the close of the one-day auction.

[End of eBay listing]

Cartoons by Donald Reilly and Frank Modell

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1971-05-22/flipbook/036/

 

03679