A Family of Swans: Garrett Price Proposed New Yorker Cover Art

Swans, the most graceful of birds, have yet to feature as the sole subject of New Yorker magazine covers. Garrett Price certainly tried to introduce a family of mute swans in their natural habitat, as can be seen in a proposed magazine cover recently offered on eBay by Illustration House. It's a bold design, with one swan's head in extreme close up and the other parent with their cygnets in the middle distance framed by the neck line of the first. It may have been thought too unconventional a design for The New Yorker, or it simply may not have been deemed compelling enough.

Garrett Price
eBay listing ended October 21, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Garrett-Price-New-Yorker-color-cover-sketch-Signed-circa-1950-Original-Art-/143791063318?hash=item217a9d8116%3Ag%3ARSQAAOSwFN9fZA8p&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Garrett Price
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

I should perhaps note that cartoonist and illustrator André François welcomed the summer of 1967 with a cover that included a swan. While it isn't the main subject, it is a small but by no means insignificant element in the overall design:

André François
The New Yorker, June 17, 1967

January 16, 2021 Update:  Sold!

Note:  I'm happy to post more images of original art by Garrett Price. Why not send me a few scans?

 

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Garrett Price: Out of Sight

An undated cartoon rough by Garrett Price was sold on eBay in August. The seller, Illustration House, dates it circa 1945 and specifically calls it a "New Yorker cartoon sketch," which seems reasonable enough. I don't believe it was ever published there, but it may have been worked into a finish and published in some other publication.

"Where are you? Get where Mummy can see you."
Garrett Price

Garrett Price
eBay listing ended August 31, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Garrett-Price-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Sketch-Signed-circa-1945-mother-amp-child-/143702026343?hash=item21754ee867%3Ag%3AdIoAAOSw5m9fRwbQ&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Garrett Price
eBay item description

Garrett Price
eBay bid history
Just one bid a day early

Note:  Was this rough eventually worked into a finish and published? Please drop a line if you know.

Original art by Garrett Price is always of interest here at Attempted Bloggery. Images are welcome.

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Heinrich Kley: Grinning and Bearing It

The spring 2007 auction at Illustration House included a watercolor titled Bear Family Relaxing. We are told it's a satire. Satire, one would think, should be recognizable without having to have it labeled as such. To me it seems more anthropomorphic than satirical. In other words, it doesn't so much mock human behavior as elevate bears to human status.

Heinrich Kley
Satire:  Bear Family Relaxing

Illustration House, June 2, 2007

http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a35/a35pages/a35_103.html

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Heinrich Kley

Attempted Bloggery's Family-Friendly Index

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In a Time of Scarcity: Helen E. Hokinson New Yorker Cover Art

The paucity of consumer goods that American's faced during the Second World War did not abate the moment the war ended. Helen E. Hokinson's society matron graciously presents a floral bouquet to her local butcher who, it may be hoped, will soon have more cuts of beef to distribute to the community. The makeshift magazine logo painted onto the original art is unusual in that it is not meant to be reproduced on the cover. Instead, Hokinson is making use of the white background to indicate the optimal color for the logo. This original art sold for $6,000 in 2005 at Illustration House.

Helen E. Hokinson
Original art
The New Yorker, June 22, 1946

Helen E. Hokinson
Original art
The New Yorker, June 22, 1946

Helen E. Hokinson
The New Yorker, June 22, 1946

Helen E. Hokinson

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/helen-hokinson-1893-1949-magazine-cover:-matron-p-109-c-5b57f61e1d#

http://www.findartinfo.com/english/list-prices-by-artist/131042/helen-e-hokinson.html

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Helen E. Hokinson

Original New Yorker Cover Art

World War II

Attempted Bloggery's Rarely Well-Done Index

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George Cruikshank: Giles Scroggins' Ghost

When standing all by the bed post,

A figure tall her sight engross'd

And it cri'd, "I be Giles Scroggins' ghost," 

Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.

The ghost it said, all solemnly,

Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.

"O Molly you must go with I,

Fol de rol de rol de ra.

"All to the grave your love to cool,"

Says she, "I am not dead, you fool."

Says the ghost, says he, "Vhy that's no rule,"

Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.

"Giles Scroggins' Ghost"
—Charles Dibdin, Jr.

George Cruikshank's illustration of the theatrical ballad "Giles Scroggins' Ghost" was offered for sale at Illustration House in 2007. It's ghoulish humor apparently did not resonate with any potential buyer and the artwork went unsold.

George Cruikshank, Giles Scroggins' Ghost, c. 1830

Illustration House
June 2, 2007
Lot 111

 http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a35/a35pages/a35_111.html

http://www.findartinfo.com/english/list-prices-by-artist/1/16370/george-cruikshank/page/3.html

For publication, Cruikshank's watercolor was handed over to an engraver. So why was a color original needed at all?

"Giles Scroggins' Ghost" illustrated by George Cruikshank
The Bodleian Library

http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/search/title/Giles%20Scroggins%20ghost

Shepley Singers
"Giles Scroggins' Ghost"
Lyrics by Charles Dibdin, Jr.
Music by William Reeve

"Giles Scroggins' Ghost"

http://www.americanantiquarian.org/thomasballads/items/show/85

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George Cruikshank

Halloween

Attempted Bloggery's Rule-Breaking Index

02346

A Ferocious Encounter With James Thurber

Ten years ago at the reputable Illustration House, a drawing by James Thurber of a rabbit staring down a dog was offered at auction. The drawing seems highly atypical for Thurber, with uncharacteristically thick lines used to indicate shade and a bumpy surface, a French title in an unfamiliar hand, and a signature that could only be called shaky. The dog's head looks like a Thurber dog but the hind quarters decidedly do not. What are we to make of this? It is perhaps telling, given all this, that the drawing sold for only $460, less than a tenth of the pre-sale low estimate. Hmm...

Recontre Féroce

Illustration House, June 2, 2007

 http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a35/a35pages/a35_107.html

http://www.findartinfo.com/english/list-prices-by-artist/12639/james-grover-thurber.html

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

James Thurber

Man's Best Friend

Attempted Bloggery's Ferociously Honest Index

02237

Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Tiger Tamer

They're big cats for sure! Illustration House identifies the subject of this drawing by Whitney Darrow, Jr. as a lion tamer, which seems reasonable enough. Still, both big cats are drawn with stripes, and--let's face it--nobody draws a lion with stripes. So let's identify our circus performer as a tiger tamer, and one who is not getting much cooperation.

EBay Listing Ended August 4, 2013

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whitney-Darrow-Jr-CARTOON-Lion-Tamer-1950-s-Signed-Listed-Illustration-NR-/130958390267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7dba73fb&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

EBay Item Description

EBay Bid History
It was a five day auction, but only the last four seconds mattered.

There were no bids at $149.99.

Note:  If you'd like to see more about Whitney Darrow, Jr., you've come to the right blog.

There just might be some more original cartoon art as well. Who'd have guessed?

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Peter Arno: Got Milk?

This preposterous drawing by Peter Arno stands--or crawls--on its own. The caption is not only weak but rather superfluous.

Peter Arno, "Can Papa milk the cow?"

Illustration House, Lot 109, June 2, 2007

 http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a35/a35pages/a35_109.html

Note:  You'll find more of Peter Arno's Grade A work all over this blog.

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Summing Up Constantin Alajálov

Constantin Alajálov was a major twentieth century illustrator whose incisive observations of our world graced the covers of the New Yorker and the Saturday Evening Post and appeared in many other publications. For two months, less the usual digressions, his highly original work has been showcased on this blog. So just who was he?

Constantin Alajálov, The Saturday Evening Post, October 6, 1945

http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2011/12/30/art-entertainment/artist-constantin-alajalov.html

The Times published this obituary in 1987, hitting the major biographical points.

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/28/obituaries/constantin-alajalov-is-dead-was-painter-and-illustrator.html

Illustration House's biography of the artist is a little more personal, offering Roger Reed's observations on meeting Alajálov.

http://becodasimagens.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

http://www.illustration-house.com/bios/alajalov_bio.html

For some reason, Illustration House reproduced this watercolor in black and white.

http://illustration-magazine.com/Illustration_Magazine_Site/23.html

Both the New Yorker and the Saturday Evening Post required their cover artists to work for them exclusively. How Alajálov alone came to work for both publications seems a mystery even to his biographer at the Post. I suspect that he had considerable charisma.

http://www.curtispublishing.com/bios/Alajalov.shtml

Constantin Alajálov, The Saturday Evening Post, May 7, 1940

To my surprise, I was unable to find an obituary notice in the New Yorker, but these are quite rare.

Ernest Watson's chapter on Alajálov's working methods is a uniquely informative source regarding this artist. In addition, Janet Flanner's biographical notes from Conversation Pieces are appended.

"Like most of Alajalov's [New Yorker] cover ideas, this one sprang from nowhere. Once in a while the editors hand him one, but 95% of them are his own."

Ernest Watson, Forty Illustrators and How They Work, 1946, pages 2-3

http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/a/alajalov/a.htm

"One step in the creation of Alajalov's covers--and an important one--cannot be shown in our demonstration. That is the black and white underpainting over which the final painting is done in color."

Ernest Watson, Forty Illustrators and How They Work, 1946, pages 4-5

http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/a/alajalov/a.htm

"'Alajalov, with more difficulty, lived on borrowed bread and olives.'"--Janet Flanner

Ernest Watson, Forty Illustrators and How They Work, 1946, page 6

http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/a/alajalov/a.htm

Constantin Alajálov, The New Yorker, November 28, 1942

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1942-New-Yorker-November-28-Army-chefs-get-turkeys-for-Thanksgiving-dinner-/121085967558?pt=Magazines&hash=item1c31493cc6

Constantin Alajálov
Ernest Watson, Forty Illustrators and How They Work, 1946, page 3

http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/a/alajalov/al/SH930.jpg

Note:  For the time being I'll have no further posts regarding the artwork of Constantin Alajálov but I'm sure I'll return to him in the future. His art is an inspiration and he has been a joy to write about. As always, I would love to hear from anyone with access to any of his original artwork or letters. He is represented too in several museum collections which may in some cases be available to the public.

01182

Backstage at Lohengrin: Constantin Alajálov New Yorker Cover Art

Constantin Alajálov's original New Yorker cover art shows us the opera from a vantage point few of us ever get to experience. Being able to see the the set from behind and the prompter's box and conductor from up front offers us an insider's exclusive view. Meanwhile, the high Wagnerian drama taking place on the stage is contrasted with the ordinary manual labor of the stagehands. The opera is Lohengrin, of course, whose title character is also known as the Swan Knight. You knew that.

Constantin Alajálov, Original art, The New Yorker, January 30, 1937

http://www.artnet.com/artists/constantin-alajalov/backstage-at-the-opera-lohengrin-Mt5YXlxHNoUYGtJScN_d5w2

Illustration House auction

http://www.artnet.com/artists/constantin-alajalov/backstage-at-the-opera-lohengrin-Mt5YXlxHNoUYGtJScN_d5w2

Constantin Alajálov, The New Yorker, January 30, 1937

Note:  I now have quite a few blog posts about the art of Constantin Alajálov. It's your lucky day.

See more examples of original New Yorker cover art.

You might also like to see a few more posts about composer Richard Wagner.

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