Ronald Searle: Holidays Artist and Model

A 1989 ink drawing (with just a little bit of colored pencil) by Ronald Searle celebrates Santa's eye for the arts. The original work from the collection of Irvin Greif was sold last month in the Illustration Art sale at Heritage Auctions.

Searle's ink technique is dazzling, as always. Santa's brushwork may be in the same league:

More than sixteen hours before the sale, the bidding was at $725. The auction house's estimate was $1,500 and up. Whatever became of having a high estimate too?

Ronald Searle
Heritage Auctions listing accessed sixteen hours before the sale

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/mainstream-illustration/ronald-william-fordham-searle-british-1920-2011-reindeer-1989-ink-on-paper-12-1-2-x-11-3-4-inches-318-x-298/a/8224-71267.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

Ronald Searle
Heritage Auctions item description

In the live bidding, the low estimate was met and exceeded.

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A 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Teaser: The View From 86th Street

Crossing West 86th Street today in a taxi, I chanced upon the very last float lined up for tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On Thanksgiving morning, Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and numerous elves will ride in this reindeer-driven sleigh all the way down to Herald Square.

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Peter Arno: Sandy Claus Arrives

In an advertisement in the January 1936 issue of Esquire, cartoonist Peter Arno (1904-1968) has clothed Santa (make that Sandy) Claus in tartan to promote the Grand Macnish liqueur scotch whiskey. From a practical point of view, the reindeers' hind legs are way too close to the sleigh, seemingly touching it. The manner in which the house's silhouette is framed inside the antlers is also just a little too pat, but it works well enough. In sum, it's remarkable how much activity Arno was able to squeeze into a limited amount of space, all of it seen boldly in close-up.

Sandy Claus Arrives
Peter Arno
Esquire, January 1936

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393780364215...

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My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2019

Moment magazine's latest Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2019 closed on November 30 just after Thanksgiving. This time around it's a holiday cartoon we are asked to caption, although precisely which holiday is anybody's guess. One thing we do know is that a little Jewish humor doesn't hurt in this contest. As always, there is no limit to the number of entries here; I could only come up with seven. Eight would have taken a miracle. The drawing by Benjamin Schwartz is very nice though I expect it will get mixed reviews.

"It's not a miracle. I borrowed one of your elves."
"I need to find the Little Match Girl."
"Do you need a ride to the Kwanzaa party?"
"Rudolph has the flu."
"Those reindeer games we wouldn't let Rudolph play? Dreidl."
"Check it twice. It's a hanukkiah."
"There's something Mrs. Claus wants you to know."

December 31, 2019 Update:  The Finalists

February 28, 2020 Update:  The Winner

Note:  Last year's Moment profile of some of the Caption Contest contestants may be read here.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Benjamin Schwartz

Santa Claus

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Cartoon Caption Contest

All These Caption Contests and More

Attempted Bloggery's Jolly Index

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Ronald Searle: Santa at the Shrine

What does Santa Clause do in the off season? Here he ventures to warmer climes and finds his way to a Santa shrine with the help of a guidebook and a perplexed reindeer. Ronald Searle pencilled in the whole sheet but inked only the intrepid travelers. Why did he abandon this? Could there be a problem with this audacious composition? If so, what? Searle went on to use the other side of the sheet and left this little gem in its unfinished state with his stamp (dated 1998) and an inscription.

December 21, 2014 Update:  Matt Jones has found an image of the completed artwork! It may have been published in the New York Times Book Review of September 7, 1997. Read more about it on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog.

http://ronaldsearle.blogspot.com/2014/12/ny-times-book-review.html

Note:  Ronald Searle could hardly touch pen to paper without creating something sensational. Check out all the blog posts in the archives.

Perpetua, the Ronald Searle tribute blog has an extensive collection of Searle Santas.

This blog also boasts its own jolly collection of Santas. Ho ho ho!

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Saul Steinberg's Santa for Hallmark

Saul Steinberg designed a number of Christmas cards for Hallmark in the 1950's. Three copies of one of them showed up on eBay some months ago.

Saul Steinberg, Christmas card for Hallmark

Saul Steinberg, Christmas card for Hallmark

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-3-Saul-Steinberg-artwork-Christmas-Card-Hallmark-Santa-Claus-Tree-Sleigh-/301244733756?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item462395d93c

Note:  Steinberg's Christmas cards for the Museum of Modern Art and for Hallmark are discussed in a gorgeous post on Aphelis. Aphelis calls itself a text archive, but if Attempted Bloggery were to have a sister blog, Aphelis would have to be it. Go ahead and see why.

Saul Steinberg's artwork is always wildly inventive and compelling. See a few examples here.

Artist's Christmas cards are a favorite topic on the blog as well, even though artists never send them to me.

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