Ludwig Bemelmans: A Girl on Horseback

An original spot drawing of a girl sitting on horseback by Madeline author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans was published in The New Yorker in May of 1961. The art was framed in-house, apparently, and became part of the collection of writers Neil and Susan Sheehan. As a writer for the magazine, Susan Sheehan must have had access to a very nice selection of original art. This piece was sold on May 15 by Second Story Books.

Ludwig Bemelmans
Framed original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans's initials

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay listing ended May 15, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/406928826275?itmmeta=01KRWEX85XX6Z4AP9QZ4ATTCHM&hash=item5ebed91fa3:g:zkgAAeSw12VqBzuq

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay item description

It looked great in print, yet readers could easily have missed it in the back of the magazine sandwiched between columns of advertising.

Ludwig Bemelmans
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans
Original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

With a spot drawing by Ludwig Bemelmans

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1961-05-13/flipbook/160/

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Ludwig Bemelmans: The Old Port and the Arche de Noé, Antibes

An undated painting of Antibes by Ludwig Bemelmans shows the old port and l'Arche de Noé. The art is available for $19,995 from Meier and Sons Rare Books of New Canaan.

Ludwig Bemelmans
AbeBooks listing accessed January 5, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/LUDWIG-BEMELMANS-ORIGINAL-OIL-PAINTING%7ETHE-OLD/32367882452/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook_high#&gid=1&pid=3

The selfsame piece was sold at auction in 2019 for $10,000.

This piece was sold in 2019 by Leland Little for $10,000.

Ludwig Bemelmans
Leland Little Important Fall Auction sale of September 21, 2019

https://www.lelandlittle.com/items/343903/ludwig-bemelmans-ny-1898-1962-i-the-old-port-and-the-arche-de-noe-i/

View through arch to Port Vauban marina and Antibes old town (Vieil Antibes) from Fort Carré in Antibes, French Riviera, Côte d'Azur, Provence, France

https://www.alamy.com/view-through-arch-to-port-vauban-marina-and-antibes-old-town-vieil-antibes-from-fort-carr-in-antibes-french-riviera-cte-dazur-provence-france-image610667417.html

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Ludwig Bemelmans: Fowl Play

A drawing with color by Ludwig Bemelmans is a preliminary sketch for an illustration, or so we are informed by a pencil notation on the verso. Schulson Autographs, the drawing's current seller on the AbeBooks website, describes the action as "an 18th century styled waiter holding a roasted fowl. Two smiling girls appear in the background." That's all well and good, although it might easily be a girl and a boy. Regardless, it doesn't explain the story behind whatever is really going on here.

An upside-down notation on the verso, "Willy's Off,"

Ludwig Bemelmans
AbeBooks listing accessed November 24, 2025

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Original-Drawing-Signed-BEMELMANS-LUDWIG/32345800458/bd

Ludwig Bemelmans
AbeBooks item description

Note:  Readers who can direct me to a finished version of this illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans will surely earn my gratitude, but you'll still have to obtain your own roasted fowl this holiday season.

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Charles Addams: Congratulations!

A classic original New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams was sold last fall at Heritage Auctions. Father's Day weekend seems a good time to dust it off and present it here.

Published as "Congratulations! It's a baby."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, p. 21

In the published caption, the punctuation has been cleaned up a bit. The cartoon is reproduced in Brendan Gill's indispensable Here at The New Yorker (1975) in chapter 20. Gill tells an anecdote about a macabre caption which may have been falsely attributed to this very drawing or one like it. I won't repeat it here.

Published as "Congratulations! It's a baby."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, p. 21

We learn from the listing that this drawing was in the collection of legendary New Yorker editor Katharine White (1892-1977). It must have been passed down to her son Roger Angell (1920-2022) and been sold off after he passed away.

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions listing of October 6, 2023

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/pulp-pulp-like-digests-and-paperback-art/charles-addams-american-1912-1988-congratulations-it-s-a-baby-the-new-yorker-magazine-interior-illustration-november-9-/a/8137-71008.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515#

"Congratulations! It's a baby."
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, p. 21

Published as "Congratulations! It's a baby."
Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, p. 21

With an illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans and a cartoon by Charles Addams

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1940-11-09/flipbook/020/

Heritage is too fond of classifying cartoons as interior illustrations. For the record, here is what should be called an interior illustration:

Illustration for "The Homesick Busboy of the Splendide."
Ludwig Bemelmans
The New Yorker, November 9, 1940, p. 20

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Ludwig Bemelmans: Madeline's Rescue from the Seine

Poor Madeline would now be dead
But for a dog
That kept its head,
And dragged her safe from a watery grave.

—Madeline's Rescue (1953)

Ludwig Bemelmans

On Friday, Heritage Auctions offered an original interior book illustration from Madeline's Rescue (1953) by Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeline, trying to scare Miss Clavel, has taken a fall into the Seine. The illustration shows her being dragged to safety by the dog who would soon be named Genevieve. The scene is surely one of the most affecting moments of her adventure. The Heritage estimate was $60,000 to $80,000. Prior to the sale, the reserve was announced to be $60,000, precisely the low estimate. (This piece had been sold in 2021 at Freeman's for $63,000, so the seller used the reserve to protect the original investment. It's praiseworthy, by the way, that Heritage is so transparent about reserves.) Be that as it may, there can't be too many illustration collectors who can summon this kind of money on demand. None of them happened to bid the reserve amount on Friday, so the piece was made available after the sale at the reserve price plus the buyer's premium, a Buy Now price of $75,000. It's a lot of money, but then the drawing is iconic.

Ludwig Bemelmans
Heritage listing accessed September 12, 2023, four days prior to the sale

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/paintings/ludwig-bemelmans-american-1898-1962-and-dragged-her-safe-from-a-watery-grave-madeline-s-rescue-interior-book-illustra/a/8145-67036.s?ic4=GalleryView-BidNow-071515#

Ludwig Bemelmans
Heritage item description

Ludwig Bemelmans
Freeman's, December 5, 2021

https://www.freemansauction.com/auctions/american-art-and-pennsylvania-impressionists-featuring-the-collection-of-virginia-and-stuart-peltz-1720/lot/29A

Detail from Freeman's

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