Since its premiere in 1954, George Balanchine's production of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" has been a holiday institution in New York. Spoiler alert: The ballet ends with Marie and the Prince carried off in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer.
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Photo: © Paul Kolnik / The New York City Ballet / The George Balanchine Trust |
In 1989, illustrator Michael Witte revisited this moment, adding The New Yorker's mascot Eustace Tilley as a third passenger in the sleigh, an excellent vantage point from which to observe through his monocle a butterfly perched on a reindeer antler. The drawing was used as a seasonal spot illustration in the Goings On About Town section of The New Yorker, one of a long series by Witte featuring Eustace Tilley in various situations and settings.
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| Michael Witte Original art The New Yorker, December 11, 1989, p. 8 The original art, unsigned, is available from Sotheby's, who identifies it only as "a Christmas scene," for a fixed price. It is also available from James Cummins, bookseller, no doubt the consignor, also for $1,000. |
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| Michael Witte Sotheby's listing accessed November 28, 2022 |
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| Michael Witte James Cummins, bookseller, listing accessed November 28, 2022 https://www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/pages/books/24027/new-yorker-magazine-art-michael-witte/new-yorker-drawing-original-ink-drawing-of-christmas-subject |
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| Michael Witte Original art The New Yorker, December 11, 1989, p. 8 |
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