Charles Addams: On the Run

A work of original Charles Addams art was sold this past weekend at Heritage Auctions. A man is seen running frantically across a lawn and the neighbors out raking the autumn leaves believe they know what that means.

"I'll bet he wants to borrow something."
Charles Addams
Original art
Out of This World, November 6, 1955, The McClure Syndicate
Nightcrawlers, 1957

It is not, as the auction house listing states, an "illustration" and it is not from The New Yorker. The drawing is actually a single-panel cartoon for Out of This World distributed by the McClure syndicate to newspapers for the date November 6, 1955. Two years later it was collected in the Addams book Nightcrawlers. The caption was not initially identified by Heritage, but the auction house located it before the sale—and very nearly got it right. I've provided the caption here exactly as it appears on page 86 of Nightcrawlers.

"I'll bet he wants to borrow something."
Charles Addams
Original art
Out of This World, November 6, 1955, The McClure Syndicate
Nightcrawlers, 1957

Starting the bidding early and low encourages bidder interest.

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions listing accessed August 28, 2023, twenty days before the sale

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/charles-addams-the-new-yorker-illustration-original-art-new-yorker-1955-/a/7341-95007.s?ic4=MyRecommendationsItem-071515

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions item description accessed August 28, 2023

The description was modified by the time of  the sale to add the (slightly incorrect) caption.

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions item description accessed September 16, 2023

Bidding as of August 28, 2023, twenty days before the auction

The final sale price was an even $10,000 plus the $2,000 buyer's premium:

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions listing at the close of bidding on September 17, 2023

The drawing, as it appears in Nightcrawlers, is cropped on both sides, eliminating the head of the rake on the left and most of the house over the hill on the extreme right. As a result the woman and the running man are at the very edges of the image. Not surprisingly, the composition works better as Addams originally drew it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115672404809?hash=item1aee9cd349:g:HDYAAOSwjSZjwcZY&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwNv%2FaQYkkasurSBCbIOeWRL
t2Kf3SHokdMeMMvQoENzi10Lu61gU4Ac3K15re8u4cV7iT80efn8ZYaXBLjF8HqmFSMoPtqAzlLI3bkw5ydxdWxy8PJf2O%2BUwrTLlAF%2
BKndIp2JN3EKFQtDLq9rlleJ8WMN4iDbgOHlKbvriH8RMKW2ChCNK7RKqiZ2PFO6KznXOqrGCx8HNYFEtWyO7%2FkkbgaEm7NJib
sU0YOGWBa9ed99hYtPo0dcVXCCbD5%2B600g%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_ztyobWYg

September 23, 2023 Update:  Blog reader and contributor David from Manhattan informs me that this piece was offered by Taraba Illustration Art back in 2019. Fred Taraba had the correct caption and knew where the cartoon was first published, so it's strange that this basic information wasn't passed along to Heritage. In 2019, the artwork's appearance was considerably different:

"I'll bet he wants to borrow something."
Charles Addams
Unrestored original art
Out of This World, November 6, 1955, The McClure Syndicate
Nightcrawlers, 1957

The paper has since undergone considerable restoration as was suggested by Fred Taraba in his listing and the overall look of the piece is now markedly improved. Some of the printer's pencil markings may have been removed as well. I've decided to give this conservation work my seal of approval, because the art can now be displayed fully as Addams drew it without the distracting rubber cement residue on either side of the crop lines. While I am unaware of the cost of the paper conservation, it appears to me the Heritage seller was perilously close to the break-even point.

Note:  There's a lot of outstanding original Charles Addams art out there. Send me images of what you've got and I just might dedicate a future blog post to it. Maybe I'll even let you borrow something. 

04449

Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Creative Block

Original art from the New Yorker by Whitney Darrow, Jr., was offered by Taraba Illustration Art in 2016. The listing read "Overindulged child bored on a rainy day. This is 13 x 11.25” and appeared in The New Yorker on August 26th, 1974... Darrow was so good at finding humor in the human condition. This one’s priced at only $1000 + $50 as share of domestic shipping… " Me, I love the way the mother offers her daughter so many creative options while the child just wants to go out and run around.

"Why don't you sing, weave, paint, sculpt, compose[,] or something?"
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, August 26, 1974, page 23

Spot drawing by Kenneth Mahood and cartoon by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1974-08-26/flipbook/022/

Note:  Attempted Bloggery seeks other examples of original art by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Spot Drawing
Kenneth Mahood

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03305

Ronald Searle's Sunset Strip

Ronald Searle's Sunset Strip is an unusual illustration for the artist, a dizzying commercial landscape unpopulated with any figures or even automobiles. It was created for TV Guide in the 1970s and the original art was listed by Taraba Illustration Art as early as 2012.

Ronald Searle
Sunset Strip
Original art
TV Guide

Detail

Ronald Searle
Taraba Illustration Art, LLC
Accessed November 18, 2012

Dead Link

Fortunately for us, contributor David from Manhattan was able to sort out the TV Guide publication history. He writes:

Searle illustrated an article, "Sunset Strip—Decline of a Legend" back in June 22, '74. Not TVG's finest hour with how it was cropped. Dimensions are 13 3/4 x 10, paper laid on board. He wrote a caption at bottom, and applied his handstamp on back, but not signed. Which leads to a question for you. Amidst the urban jumble, there appears to be what looks like a large "RS" with an arrow pointing to it. A bit of sly humor on the artist's part, or is the current owner getting carried away?

Here again is the art:

Ronald Searle
Sunset Strip
Original art
TV Guide, June 22, 1974

What irritates me most about TV Guide's reproduction is actually not how severely the image was cropped—I think it was created with that possibility in mind—but rather how much of Searle's exuberant detail was muddied in the printing process.

Ronald Searle
"Sunset Strip—Decline of a Legend"
TV Guide, June 22, 1974

TV Guide's crop line cuts directly between these two towers. Even in the preserved right half, the drawing's frenetic energy was largely lost anyway in the process of printing:

Detail

Is there a hidden RS? Anything's possible.

In Searle's handwriting

Yes, Searle's American agent John Locke had a prestigious BUtterfield-8 phone number. This prefix was culturally immortalized by the John O'Hara novel and subsequent movie of that name. Locke typically would answer his phone by saying, "8010."

Note:  Thanks to David from Manhattan for all the scholarship he puts into his contributions here. This is David's thirty-sixth contribution to Attempted Bloggery.

For more on Searle's TV Guide work, tune in to Matt Jones's 2007 post "Magazine Illustration Part 1: TV Guide" on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog, here.

Ronald Searle's centenary will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 3. As any fule kno.

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TV Guide

David from Manhattan

Attempted Bloggery's Sundowning Index

03184

Heinrich Kley: How to Feed Your Dragon

There is a long tradition in fantasy art of pairing female nudes with dragons and other mythical beasts. Alternatively, Heinrich Kley chooses to pair his dragon with a corpulent nude man, but when it comes to feeding time, that shouldn't impose any particular impediments.

Heinrich Kley

Der Futterkorb [The Feedbasket]

Heinrich Kley

Der Futterkorb [The Feedbasket]

Retrieved August 5, 2013.

The price has since been reduced to $3,800.

https://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/illustration-art/73-heinrich-kley

Note:  Our clothing-optional days here at Attempted Bloggery are drawing to a close. 


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02656

Charles Addams: Birds of a Feather

A New Yorker pencil rough by Charles Addams shows the care he took in preparing preliminary sketches of cartoon submissions. The final published version overall has very similar figure placement to the rough sketch, but Addams (or the editors) rethought the foreground hut and some of the larger background birds, particularly the one standing just behind the man. Having birds that are too large in the background disrupts the perspective and provides an unneeded visual distraction. The foreground hut is expendable because there's already a cabin in the background and the basic premise of the gag is that not a lot of people are present on the island anyway.

"Well, you wanted a place with more birds than people."
Charles Addams, preliminary cartoon art
Published as "Well, you wanted a place with more birds than people."
The New Yorker, February 15, 1982, page 40

Pencil caption and ink signature

"Well, you wanted a place with more birds than people."
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, February 15, 1982, page 40
Tear sheet with inscription and signature

Charles Addams
Taraba Illustration Art, LLC listing as of November 18, 2012

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1982-02-15#folio=040

Note:  Do you know what this blog needs? How about more scans and photos of preliminary art, finished art, and concept art by Charles Addams and other New Yorker artists? Am I right?

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

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02324

Ed Koren: Hot Tub Versus TV

This original artwork by Edward Koren shows four people--likely two couples--serenely relaxing in a hot tub together while a fifth person, a fully-dressed man, attentively watches television indoors instead. Everyone seems fairly contented here. As it turns out, today we have far more screens than this to choose from, some of which can come pretty much into the hot tub with us. This colorful piece was offered for sale by Taraba Illustration Art at $1,200 in 2010 and was subsequently sold.

Edward Koren, Original Artwork for TV Guide

http://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/art119.shtml

0677

Charles Addams Witch's Cauldron

Fred Taraba's website offers for sale this preliminary cartoon sketch in charcoal of witches at a cauldron.  It is, of course, by the legendary Charles Addams, master of the macabre. It has been available for over a year now, so the comment that it's "Just in time for Hallowe'en" is once again accurate.

Charles Addams, “Funny – the recipes never come out looking
like they do in the pictures”

Artist: Charles Addams (1912-1988)

Description: Witches at cauldron

Caption: “Funny – the recipes never come out looking like they do in the pictures”

Publication information: Preliminary drawing for New Yorker cartoon. Apparently not published.

Medium: Charcoal

Size: 17.5 x 14”

Signature: signed, lower right.

Condition: Light horizontal creasing, overall very good, framed.

Comment: Just in time for Hallowe’en… a classic example of the master of the season, Charles Addams.

Price: $1,400.

March 11, 2012 Update:  The price has been reduced to $1,100.

October 18, 2012 Update:  The price has been reduced to $975.

http://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/art73.shtml

Note:  My most recent post about Charles Addams is here.

0122

Happy Birthday, George Booth!

George Booth, "Oh, Say, Can You See." 
The New Yorker, July 4, 2011

In Monday's mail The New Yorker arrived featuring a wonderful Fourth of July cover by George Booth, entitled "Oh, Say, Can You See." Over the years, Booth has created a great many delightful covers for the magazine, often featuring his signature English bull terrier. He turns 85 today, Tuesday, June 28, just a few days before our nation turns 235. Happy Birthday, George! Thanks for all the fabulous drawings. And Happy Birthday, America!

****

While we're on the subject, Taraba Illustration Art offers this classic Booth original artwork of a skittish dog:

   http://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/art74.shtml

George Booth, Beware! Skittish Dog,

Variant of a drawing from The New Yorker, August 15, 1997, page 60

Artist: George Booth (b. 1926) Description: Dog sitting next to sign Caption: “BEWARE! – Skittish dog” Publication information: Not published, rather a version of one of Booth’s most recognized cartoons. The published version appeared in The New Yorker on August 15th, 1977. A third version appears in the book,Omnibooth: The Best of George Booth. A copy of the book accompanies the purchase of the artwork. Medium: pen and ink Size: 2.75 x 4.5” Signature: signed, lower right. Condition: The ink has faded somewhat, otherwise good, framed. Comment: In a 1999 interview with the Boston Phoenix, Booth recalls this cartoon, saying “I drew an ornery-looking mutt in the New Yorker and somebody wrote a letter and said, ‘Is that an English bull terrier?’ And I didn’t know what they looked like. I went to the library, and gradually the dog became an English bull terrier… I had drawn a dog sitting next to a sign that read Beware of skittish dog. That was the character that started that. I think Mr. Shawn had said something about it. He liked it.” A copy of the article is included with the purchase of the artwork. Price: $2,500.

Artist: George Booth (b. 1926)

Description: Dog sitting next to sign

Caption: “BEWARE! – Skittish dog”

Publication information: Not published, rather a version of one of Booth’s most recognized cartoons. The published version appeared in The New Yorker on August 15th, 1977. A third version appears in the book,Omnibooth: The Best of George Booth. A copy of the book accompanies the purchase of the artwork.

Medium: pen and ink

Size: 2.75 x 4.5”

Signature: signed, lower right.

Condition: The ink has faded somewhat, otherwise good, framed.

Comment: In a 1999 interview with the Boston Phoenix, Booth recalls this cartoon, saying “I drew an ornery-looking mutt in the New Yorker and somebody wrote a letter and said, ‘Is that an English bull terrier?’ And I didn’t know what they looked like. I went to the library, and gradually the dog became an English bull terrier… I had drawn a dog sitting next to a sign that read Beware of skittish dog. That was the character that started that. I think Mr. Shawn had said something about it. He liked it.”

A copy of the article is included with the purchase of the artwork.

Price: $2,500.

George Booth, Beware! Skittish Dog,

The New Yorker, August 15, 1997, p. 60

Image added November 6, 2012

George Booth, Beware! Skittish Dog,

The New Yorker, August 15, 1997, p. 60

Image added November 6, 2012

July 12, 2011 Update:  Illustrator James Gurney of Dinotopia fame has started a contest of sorts to "finish" this Booth cover by cleverly filling in the white space. Contestants are encouraged to submit their completed artwork to The New Yorker for judging, while the magazine, of course, hasn't agreed to any such contest. It seems likely that Gurney himself will be the judge at the end of the month. My fear, probably unjustified, is that such a prank may discourage the magazine from publishing any future covers with unused white space. For the record, I think Booth's use of all that empty space is just teriffic, and I suspect Gurney thinks so too. Nevertheless, the slightly subversive "Unfinished Cover Contest" is proposed here and there are already some decent submissions on display.

July 22, 2011 Update:  James Gurney has posted an update here on the "unfinished" cover contest. The New Yorker, we learn to our surprise, has agreed to post some of the contest submissions on its own blog.  Meanwhile on Gurney Journey, Gurney himself will select three finalists at month's end and allow his readers to select their favorite. The entries are quite interesting. No word on what George Booth thinks of all this.  Emily Kan, the assistant to cover editor Françoise Mouly, did ask Booth how he came up with his ideas here on the New Yorker's blog. The answer may not totally surprise you.

July 31, 2011 Update:  James Gurney has selected three finalists for the "New Yorker Unfinished Cover Contest" here. He posted a link to the Stretchbook blog's entry here. This exercise brought out a lot of good ideas!

August 18, 2011 Update:  Emily Kan, on the New Yorker's News Desk blog, reports on the entries for James Gurney's "Unfinished Cover Contest" here. George Booth, we are told, is "delighted" with all this fuss over his July 4 cover. “I think it’s just lovely that we stirred them up. It’s good to get reactions, and it doesn’t bother me. They can do whatever they want.” Meanwhile the magazine's art critic Peter Schjeldahl is baffled by it all.

03