A group of eleven full-page Esquire cartoons by Mischa Richter was sold on eBay in November. The early drawings, to my eye, show the influence of Syd Hoff and George Grosz.
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| "You're such a child, but I love you[.]" "Boy! The progress this younger generation has made since our day[.]" |
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| "Hey[,] Butch! The gentleman you was expecting is here[.]" "Suave, ain't he?" |
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| Mischa Richter eBay listing ended November 25, 2023 |
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| Mischa Richter eBay item description |
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The Temporary National Economic Committee (TNEC) was established by a joint resolution of the United States Congress on June 16, 1938 and operated until its defunding on April 3, 1941. The TNEC's function was to study the concentration of economic power and to report to Congress with its findings.
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| "If anyone calls, Hawkins, I'm appearing before the monopoly investigation." Mischa Richter The New Masses, December 20, 1938, page 14 |
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| Detail |
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| Detail with Mischa Richter's signature |
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| The cartoon as it appeared in the New Masses |
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| Mischa Richter eBay listing ended April 1, 2021 |
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| Mischa Richter eBay item description |
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| Mischa Richter eBay bid history Four bidders submit five bids, but it is the two last-minute bidders who are serious. The last bid, submitted with only four seconds remaining in the auction, fails. |
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| https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/new-masses/1938/index.htm |
Note: Mischa Richter may have crossed paths with George Grosz at the Art Students League in New York. His copy of a Grosz monograph is in the blog archives here. He acquired it some six months after the publication of this cartoon, but he may already have been familiar with Grosz's work.
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| George Grosz Christie's New York, November 13, 2015 |
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In 1939, George Grosz held his first New York show of paintings at the Walker Galleries, located just five blocks to the east of the Art Students League where he taught. He personalized an invitation to "see my new things" at the exhibition for a Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Cramer, his handwritten note curving around the edges of the printed notice so that his signature is upside-down. The envelope is postmarked just four days prior to the opening. Upstate, the mailing had to be forwarded to them by the Postal Service, but if they made haste the Cramers might still have had a chance to catch this gallery showing.
Note: On my Instagram feed, user grosz_club noted that the sticker used as a seal on the back of the envelope is very similar to one printed in red that Grosz used in 1917-1918.
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I have a copy of a 1927 French monograph on George Grosz—it isn’t particularly rare and I don’t read French, but I couldn’t resist getting Mischa Richter’s copy! I know they both taught at the Art Students League in the 30s but don’t know if their years coincided.
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| George Grosz AbeBooks Listing Retrieved August 24, 2019 |
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| Cape Cod, 1936 |
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| http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2357+++++608+&refno=++694556&saletype= |
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| Cape Cod, n.d. |
Truro, Cape Cod Landscape, 1939| Estimate: $3000 - $5000 | Sold for $3,600 |
| Estimate: $3000 - $5000 | Sold for $3,400 |
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| Landscape Cape Cod, oil on canvas |
| Sale 2012 Lot 286 - Sep 14 2004 10:30 Swann Galleries |
| Estimate: $500 - $750 | Sold for $575 |
Sold for $475
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