J. C. Leyendecker: Thanksgiving 1932

On November 14, Heritage Auctions sold the original art to a Saturday Evening Post cover by J. C. Leyendecker from the issue of November 26, 1932. Titled Thanksgiving Crest, it might not be what one is expecting of the artist or the Post. It is from the collection of Michael Dolas.

Bidding started at $75,000. Four days before the sale, no online bids had yet been placed. The estimate was $150,000 to $250,000.

J. C. Leyendecker
Heritage Auctions listing accessed November 9, 2025

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/paintings/a-written-description-will-be-available-soon/a/8231-67008.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Open-BrowseAlsoViewed-012417

J. C. Leyendecker
Heritage Auctions item description

The work was sold on November 14 for a hammer price of  $160,000.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187493565061

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Turkeys on the Shore: Original Frank Modell New Yorker Cover Art

Many people admire New Yorker covers—inspired full-page illustrations presented to the world free of promotional text—but opportunities to get to see the original art from which they are created are few and far between. It's so gratifying when such cover art does surface and come to the market, sometimes many decades later. Frank Modell's original art for the issue of November 25, 1961 was just sold at Heritage Auctions in April. It is a thoughtful, atmospheric image that anticipates the first Thanksgiving in a way that is both humorous and affecting.

Frank Modell
Original art
The New Yorker, November 25, 1961

Frank Modell
Framed original art
The New Yorker, November 25, 1961

Frank Modell
Heritage Auctions listing of April 23, 2024

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/paintings/franklin-p-modell-american-1917-2016-turkeys-the-new-yorker-magazine-cover-november-25-1961gouache-pastel-/a/8161-71418.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116

Frank Modell
Heritage Auctions item description

Frank Modell
The New Yorker, November 25, 1961

Frank Modell
Original art
The New Yorker, November 25, 1961

It is now apparent that the original Modell art I posted on November 22, 2022 was actually a preliminary study for this cover:

The artwork is still available on eBay, priced at about three times what the cover art went for.

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My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2023

Moment magazine's Cartoon Caption Contest for the November/December 2023 issue depicts an Orthodox Jewish man preparing to carve a turkey with the aid of an unusual cutting implement. My six submitted captions are shown below. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz.

"Can anyone come up with a blessing for this?"
"Sorry, but the carving knife is on backorder."
"Is anybody here in a hurry?"
"Why is everybody so snippy?"
"Does anyone see a dotted line?"
"Usually I work smaller."

January 17, 2024 Update:  The Finalists

May 18, 2024 Update:  The Winner

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Frank Modell: Turkeys in the Snow

New Yorker cartoonist Frank Modell's painting of two turkeys out in a snowfall views the birds from slightly behind with their heads turned away. Lightly signed Modell on the left in red, it is an unassuming composition and doesn't look like a published piece. The framed original bears a gift inscription that is equally unassuming: "For David, from one turkey to another—Frank."

The painting—is it a gouache?—has been available on eBay for more than two years. The listing uses twelve photos where two or three would suffice. The piece is listed at $599, but the seller is open to Best Offers.

Frank Modell
eBay listing accessed November 21, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124039047269?hash=item1ce14da865:g:HdUAAOSwqgFeDDF6&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4CqXrpofv3%2B7izXg5Zd7RVd%2BQRTN4%2FB44KZRVl52mTI1nHbSmJPtPCIQoH9sB%2F1yAdyo8yKdTSnkiLdm%2Fb42qWNmFcJMt%2FQMGvPkh8YgGoh6l%2BPAENDgeRQIwvhfXWT46Q6Z3WUdaKaQ7EuE9Idn4V6QHn9oenkdqu%2BO6fMtuEOYSshwHKnH72zld7VBSMUmdQXj6EN5QR0cU3fJF3uozAirMHQmQ9IzAPxe%2B9h%2Fa5uKamtiLyTQRSVzBdvBULxHTWjy11QKvfzLSLBda3CqZqr9NKsjsp%2FPFYiXDadzEUqT%7Ctkp%3ABFBMwoO805Nh

Frank Modell
eBay item description

September 1, 2023 Update:  Inflation, apparently.

May 5, 2024 Update:  Aha! This image is no doubt a study for The New Yorker cover of November 25, 1961. The original cover art was sold at Heritage Auctions on April 23, 2024 and may be seen in today's Attempted Bloggery post.

 

Note:  Some blogs thrive on original art by New Yorker artists like Frank Modell. This blog happens to be one of them. Images welcome.

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My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for November/December 2021

This year Chanukah began on the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend, apparently inspiring Moment magazine's Cartoon Caption Contest for the November/December issue. My captions are below. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz.

"A great miracle happened back there."
"Wait, you're Amish?"
"Next time you light them, leave your hat on."
"A foil-wrapped chocolate coin for your thoughts?"
"Could we extend the reprieve through Chanukah every year?"

January 30, 2022 Update:  The Finalists

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B. Kliban: CatNoel Cards

Pomegranate's CatNoel holiday card assortment by B. Kliban offers twenty cards priced at $16.95. The boxed set is currently out of stock, but there's always next year.

https://www.pomegranate.com/products/b-kliban-catnoel-holiday-card-assortment

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Robert Day: Holiday Inflation

Robert Day's 1952 cartoon about the turkey trade appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. Its publication was timed for the Christmas season and not for Thanksgiving. Still, it seems appropriate to post it now and to have it stand for all the coming holidays in which turkeys are consumed.

Robert Day
The Saturday Evening Post, December 20, 1952

Scan by Dick Buchanan

Note:  My thanks to Dick Buchanan for contributing this scan from his cartoon clip files. If I ever learn how to use a scanner, I hope to be as good at it as he is. 

 

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Jerry Marcus: The First Thanksgiving

Dick Buchanan has gone into his Cartoon Clip Files again in search of long-neglected holiday humor. He has found an old Saturday Evening Post cartoon by Jerry Marcus depicting the first Thanksgiving. It's a delightful gem of a drawing by a cartoonist we don't hear much about. Dick writes:

Jerry Marcus had 4 New Yorker sales. He was a regular for the Post and appeared in most major magazines. A lot of his work featured smart alecky kids, etc.

"We ought to do this again, next year."

Jerry Marcus

The Saturday Evening Post, November 29, 1958, page 71

Scan by Dick Buchanan

This is quite a complex scene evoking much of how we have come to envision the first Thanksgiving. It's not a family gathering, of course, but a friendly meeting of sometimes antagonistic cultures. The women doing the serving appear just as pleased as the men being served, something not uncommon in imagery of the 1950s. And just look at that dog eying the turkey, completely unnecessary to the gag and completely marvelous! Also unnecessary, and not nearly so marvelous, is the comma in the caption. Still, this gag is a clever imagining of how a tradition we take almost for granted might have got its first spark.

Note:  Some of the many things I am thankful for especially at this time of year are the contributions of Dick Buchanan from his voluminous Cartoon Clip Files. Dick contributes regularly to the blog Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently part of a post remembering the great "Gahan WIlson 1930 - 2019."

This post marks Jerry Marcus's first appearance on this blog.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives: 

Thanksgiving Day

Dogs

The Saturday Evening Post

Dick Buchanan

Attempted Bloggery's Turkey of an Index

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