Twenty by Gahan Wilson

On eastern Long Island two months ago, twenty unpublished works by Gahan Wilson were sold as a group.

Versos

Gahan Wilson
South Bay Auctions, Inc., listing accessed June 6, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Gahan-Wilson-American-1930-2019-,-Group-of-20-118-c-04D4526ABC?utm_term=cartoon&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=group-noapp&utm_term=347083

Gahan Wilson
South Bay Auctions, Inc., item description

Sold! With an initial estimate of $200 to $400, the drawings sold for a more impressive $2,200. Still, that's only $105 per unpublished cartoon.

Note:  And there you have it. Those who possess original art by Gahan Wilson are invited to share images of it here.

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Gahan Wilson: At the Barber's

An original Playboy cartoon by the irrepressible Gahan Wilson was sold two weeks ago in East Moriches. The setting is a barber shop.

"The usual, sir?"
"Yes, please."
Gahan Wilson
Original art
Playboy, December 1982

Gahan Wilson's signature

With overlay

Gahan Wilson
South Bay Auctions, Inc., listing of June 18, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Gahan-Wilson-American-1930-2019-,-Playboy-Magazi-116-c-6584FCFB46?utm_term=cartoon&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=group-noapp&utm_term=347083

The drawing appears on page 472 of Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons (2009) which helpfully dates it to the December 1982 issue:

https://archive.org/details/Gahan_Wilson_50_Years_of_Playboy_Cartoons/page/n453/mode/2up

The cartoon can be licensed through CartoonStock. The letters PB stand for Playboy:

https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoon?searchID=PB400439

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Gahan Wilson: Apocalypse on Fifth Avenue

Gahan Wilson's original cartoon for the New Yorker issue of January 19, 1998, shows a city undergoing an calamity of apocalyptic proportions.

"Still, you gotta admit crime is down."
Gahan Wilson
Original art
The New Yorker, January 19, 1998, p. 57

Gahan Wilson's signature

The mockup, right, suggests the artwork was considered as a New Yorker cover, sans caption. The colors are untrue to the original. Note the addition of the Fifth Avenue signpost, probably as an overlay. The date, January 9, 1998, does not correspond to a published issue of the magazine. Nothing about this seems typical.

This intriguing original art was sold at South Bay Auctions, Inc., of Eastern Long Island on June 18. 

Gahan Wilson
South Bay Auctions, Inc., listing accessed June 12, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Gahan-Wilson-American-1930-2019-,-New-Yorker-Car-112-c-11B452BB8E?utm_term=cartoon&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=group-noapp&utm_term=348294

Sold!

When published in The New Yorker as a cartoon, the Fifth Avenue sign seen on the cover mockup was retained.

"Still, you gotta admit crime is down."
Gahan Wilson
The New Yorker, January 19, 1998, p. 57

"Still, you gotta admit crime is down."
Gahan Wilson
Original art
The New Yorker, January 19, 1998, p. 57

With a drawing by Gahan Wilson

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1998-01-19/flipbook/056/

Note:  Original cartoon art by Gahan Wilson is usually a good subject for this blog, whether or not the world as we know it is coming to an end. Please send images of what lies hiddin within your collection.

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