"Something Else Entirely: The Illustration Art of Edward Gorey" Opening Reception

Last night the Society of Illustrators hosted the official opening reception for the exhibition "Something Else Entirely: The Illustration Art of Edward Gorey." The crowd was enthusiastic; the artwork was inspired.

The display case houses published Gorey rarities, including copies of old copies of TV Guides graced by Gorey illustrations.

The real treasure, of course, is the original Gorey art:

Wouldn't you just know it? The cover art for A Clutch of Vampires is in the archives here.

Note:  There's still time to celebrate Edward Gorey's centenary. "Something Else Entirely: The Illustration Art of Edward Gorey" continues its run at the Society of Illustrators in New York through January 4.

05093

The Owl and the Pussycat: Ronald Searle Original New Yorker Cover Art

The Owl and the Pussycat, beloved characters from Edward Lear's nonsense verse, make an appearance in Ronald Searle's New Yorker cover of July 27, 1992. In Lear's telling, they "went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat," but here they take that boat out onto Central Park Lake. Yesterday, the original Searle art was sold by Stephenson's Auctions of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

The presale estimate was $300-$500 with the bidding starting at $150, absurdly low numbers all around. Seventeen potential bidders watched the item.

Ronald Searle
Stephenson's Auction listing 13 hours before the sale

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/195157908_ronald-william-fordham-searle-illustration-art

Sold! (To an internet bidder.)

Note:  For further reading, see the blog's 2020 post on Arnie Levin and Ronald Searle: The Owl and the Pussycat and The New Yorker. It's an old favorite of mine.

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Edward Lear: Desert of Sinai

Edward Lear (1812-1888) is known and beloved to this day for his nonsense verse and illustration. On his travels, though, he sketched and painted more realistic work. His Desert of Sinai, for example, shows his skill in delineating the vast scale of the landscape populated with smaller groups of human figures traveling on camelback. A few splashes of color give a sense of the local textiles. The work was sold on Tuesday in Chicago with an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000.

Edward Lear
Toomey & Co. listing accessed October 20, 2024

https://www.toomeyco.com/auctions/2024/10/fine-art/190

Sold!

Hammer price

Price including the buyer's premium

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An Edward Lear First Day Cover Signed by Ronald Searle

The autograph market is rife with postal covers bearing patently unrelated signatures. The thinking is that if one takes something collectible such as, say, a first day cover, and has some celebrity sign it, a unique rarity has been created. If the signature bears no relation to the cover, though, there's not much point to it. On the other hand, if an astronaut should perhaps sign a cover with a space stamp, the signature and the stamp might have a perceived synergy that could very well make it a sought-after item.

The same might be said for an item sold yesterday by Chaucer Covers and Auctions, a first day cover with four Edward Lear (1812-1888) stamps issued in the UK on the centenary of his death and signed by Ronald Searle (1920-2011). Lear, of course, is known for his nonsense verse and fanciful illustrations, while Searle, who followed him a century later, was a master of humorous illustration. Clearly the combination works and the selling price, 28 GBP ($39.50 US), while not extravagant, is at least a proof of concept.

Edward Lear/Ronald Searle
Invaluable auction accessed May 2, 2021

https://www.invaluable.com/catalog/jj2r9r0owm?rfa=true&size=50&page=1&categories=&searchWithAll=Searle

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Arnie Levin and Ronald Searle: The Owl and the Pussycat and The New Yorker

Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

https://www.mediastorehouse.com/granger-art-on-demand/cats/owl-pussycat-drawing-edward-lear-book-nonsense-songs-6249501.html?prodid=7287

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43188/the-owl-and-the-pussy-cat

More than a century after the original publication of Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (1871), the famous nonsense poem improbably served as the inspiration for two outstanding New Yorker covers published exactly five years apart. Not coincidentally, these two covers neatly bracket the five-year editorial reign of Robert Gottlieb. The moonlit 1987 cover is by Arnie Levin; the 1992 cover set on Central Park Lake is by Ronald Searle.

Arnie Levin
The New Yorker, July 27, 1987

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1987-07-27/flipbook/CV1/

Ronald Searle
The New Yorker, July 27, 1992

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1992-07-27/flipbook/CV1/

* * *

Incidentally, a more tempestuous treatment of the subject by Searle is today in the collection of Robert L. Forbes. It is apparently undated.

Ronald Searle
The Owl and the Pussycat

Ronald Searle
Christie's South Kensington
July 29, 2008

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43188/the-owl-and-the-pussy-cat

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Edward Lear's The Temple of Olympian Zeus

Edward Lear, known today largely for his nonsense verse and drawings, also did serious plain air painting during his travels. Here is his view of the Temple of Olympian Zeus with the Acropolis in the background.

Edward Lear (1812-1888) 

The Temple of Olympian Zeus with the Acropolis beyond, Athens 

inscribed and dated 'Athens./14 June. 1848.' and numbered '30' (lower right) and further inscribed 'The Acropolis at least/1/2 a mile further off/I .../put blue smoke from the city/& more ochre on pillar bases' (lower left)
pencil, pen and brown ink and watercolour, heightened with touches of bodycolour
10½ x 19½ in. (26.7 x 49.5 cm.) 

Price Realized 

£26,290
• ($38,226)
• Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

Estimate

£15,000 - £20,000
• ($21,810 - $29,080)

Provenance

Canon Charles M. Church.
H.M.N. Hollis and by descent until 1985. 

Literature

Vivian Noakes, Edward Lear 1812-1888, 1985, illustrated p. 49.
Susan Hyman, Edward Lear in the Levant, 1988, illustrated p. 44. 

Exhibited

Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery, Edward Lear, 1964, catalogue untraced.
London, Royal Academy, Edward Lear 1812-1888, 1985, no. 20b, reproduced p. 49. 

Sale Information

Sale 6578 Lot 113

BRITISH ART ON PAPER

 6 June 2002 

London, King Street

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/drawings-watercolors/edward-lear-the-temple-of-olympian-zeus-3928474-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=3928474&sid=0d3260a3-1622-4d35-a55f-8868815e7b75

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Sendak's Jumblies in a Sieve at Sea

Offered for sale at $36,000 by Illustration House, this whimsical interpretation of a whimsical poem by Edward Lear is a rare opportunity to own a published original book illustration by Maurice Sendak. The exhibition and sale began on February 27, 2010 and may or may not still be going on.

6.	Maurice Sendak						b. 1928
		Jumblies in sieve at sea.
		Book illustration: Sing a Song of Popcorn, Every Child's Book of Poems, by Edward Lear; Publisher: (Scholastic Inc.), 1988, p. 53: “The Jumblies” Pen & ink, watercolor, 5.25 x 6", signed & dated lr
		$36,000
		Condition - Very good to fine overall: paper bright; archivally matted and framed.
		Another extreme rarity. Sendak has made a bequest of the finished, published drawings for his children's books to the Rosenbach Foundation in Philadelphia. We know of no exceptions to this rule, however, the present work does not illustrate his own writing, rather that of legendary satirist, Edward Lear. In addition, the book contains other stories not illustrated by Sendak, so this watercolor escaped captivity. The rendering and characters are instantly recognizeable as classic Sendak. This work sold at an Illustration House auction for $30,375 in November 2004.

http://www.illustration-house.com/exhib/chld10/chld10pages/chld10_006.html

6.

Maurice Sendak

b. 1928

Jumblies in sieve at sea.

Book illustration: Sing a Song of Popcorn, Every Child's Book of Poems, by Edward Lear; Publisher: (Scholastic Inc.), 1988, p. 53: “The Jumblies”
Pen & ink, watercolor, 5.25 x 6", signed & dated lr

$36,000

Condition - Very good to fine overall: paper bright; archivally matted and framed.

Another extreme rarity. Sendak has made a bequest of the finished, published drawings for his children's books to the Rosenbach Foundation in Philadelphia. We know of no exceptions to this rule, however, the present work does not illustrate his own writing, rather that of legendary satirist, Edward Lear. In addition, the book contains other stories not illustrated by Sendak, so this watercolor escaped captivity. The rendering and characters are instantly recognizeable as classic Sendak. This work sold at an Illustration House auction for $30,375 in November 2004.

Note: If you want to see my previous post on Maurice Sendak, you'll have to go all the way back to yesterday.

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