William Steig: The Scolding That Doesn't End

From the collection of Neil and Susan Sheehan comes an imaginative and absurd New Yorker drawing by William Steig. Published in 1969, the drawing was listed online this past weekend by Second Story Books and was promptly sold.

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 8, 1969, p. 167

William Steig's signature

The work was offered on AbeBooks for $500. 

William Steig
AbeBooks listing ended May 17, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/ORIGINAL-1969-NEW-YORKER-CARTOON-Signed/32447222280/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=readmore_low

William Steig
AbeBooks item description

The original art has sustained considerable toning, but the image appears forever young on the pages of the magazine. Not the same can be said for Steig's couple.

William Steig
The New Yorker, November 8, 1969, p. 167

William Steig
Original art
The New Yorker, November 8, 1969, p. 167

With a spot drawing by Mario Micossi and a cartoon by William Steig

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1969-11-08/flipbook/166/

* * * 

"The Art World" spot drawing
Mario Micossi

Note:  For those who remember William Steig chiefly as the creator of Shrek!, that children's book wasn't published until 1990, twenty-one years after this drawing.

05269

William Steig: Mystery in the Making

Neil and Susan Sheehan owned several wonderful New Yorker cartoon originals by William Steig. This one, from 1964, sold quickly, as did the others.

                        "A perfect night for a murder."
William Steig
Framed original art
The New Yorker, November 28, 1964, p. 54

William Steig's signature

William Steig
eBay listing ended May 16, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/318307590972?_skw=William+Steig&itmmeta=01KRRZPWHC9ZSYA95FTBHZJ6RT&hash=item4a1c9c633c:g:AAQAAeSwEv9qByrr&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA0GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xBPeiliTW06%2BiyNO8If%2FE3WxqmX%2BUuRSzLM7CoFc8Q0Rs79VgvoXajedz%2B0z1XhLD7n9QxV%2F6

zpnDscA%2FfYs9Dg3qNzQdFV7AlBb7YjRiWeSRfX2tMzD9l9wiimOiyxGaWfEOIZL%2BG8gEDIOoIt%2FVN2Xr%2BORAYGGA9kcyXDD9o%2BeAJ23mjBbQ%2B79SSgCwMS8%2FSsDDB4YdeqKovenr3RUz8OjsqotrAG6fvSK%2BHi4xChf777JpdT74%2F%2B27y9sJYKbrM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-7I25_GZw

William Steig
eBay item description

Here it is in the magazine, which Susan Sheehan worked for, by the way:

                        "A perfect night for a murder."
William Steig
The New Yorker, November 28, 1964, p. 54

                       "A perfect night for a murder."
William Steig
Framed original art
The New Yorker, November 28, 1964, p. 54

With Cartoons by William Steig and James Stevenson

* * *

James Stevenson's cartoon, printed on the page opposite, has a sleek corporate look which sets off the gloomy, atmospheric Steig.

                      "I went through chintz, stripes, flowers, and God    

knows what all till I finally found something I really liked."    

James Stevenson
The New Yorker, November 28, 1964, p. 55

05268

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #990

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #990 from the issue of May 11 & 18, 2026, a couple sitting in a car are stopped at a chicken crossing indicated by a road sign. As they wait for the many chickens to pass, the man, who sits in the driver's seat, speaks. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Mort Gerberg.

"Don't you know any other jokes?"

May 25, 2026 Update:  The Finalists

June 7, 2026 Update:  I voted for the caption from Harrison. 

June 13, 2016 Update:  The Winner

0526?

Claude Smith: The Happy Husband

Claude Smith called his seven-panel New Yorker cartoon of April 13, 1968, "one of my few supers!" On May 31, 1982, he pronounced it "Still a good one!" These notations were presumably made when the artist presented the original to a new owner. The art was sold in Brooklyn on January 4 for $400 plus a 28% buyer's premium.

Claude's drawing has an underlying assumption of female subservience rewarded only by male anger. The accommodating woman fails to make her husband happy, while his immature acting out brings him pleasure and contentment. Is it telling that Claude was so pleased with himself here?

Versos

The stamp indicates Ben Day was used for shading . . . but I don't see any shading.

Verso

Claude Smith's signature

Claude Smith
Antique Arena, Inc., sale of January 4, 2024

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/195006709_claude-smith-original-new-yorker-magazine-cartoon

Claude Smith 
Antique Arena, Inc., sale of January 4, 2025

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/195006709_claude-smith-original-new-yorker-magazine-cartoon/?from=alert&utm_source=LA_SavedAlert&utm_campaign=SearchAlert_20230912_A&utm_medium=email&utm_content=itemendingsoon

Note:  For once an auction house has really done its homework. If you'd like to do your homework too, send along images of some original Claude Smith art along with all the publication info. Be nice and I may even throw a coaster at you.

04848

Constantin Alajálov: Warning All Wives!

An article called "Warning All Wives!" published in McCall's was reprinted in the Reader's Digest issue of February 1964. Part II of a feature with the same name appeared in a February magazine issue, possibly McCall's, along with Constantin Alajálov's illustration, the original of which is reproduced here. The husband appears exhausted, the wife frustrated. What could possibly have gone wrong in the marriage bed?

Warning All Wives! (Part II)
Constantin Alajálov
McCall's[?], c. February 1964[?], p. 129

Verso

An undated, unsigned inscription on the back of the illustration board lists the price of this work at $1,250. The sale of the art at Stephenson's Auction in Southampton, Pennsylvania, on New Year's Day had the bidding start at $1,500, with an estimate of $3,000 to $6,000. No bids had been received as of two hours prior to the sale.

Constantin Alajálov
Stephenson's Auction listing accessed two hour before the sale

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/195157904_constantin-alajalov-gouache-illustration-on-board

At the drop of the hammer, there was no sale:


Page 48 of the February 1964 Reader's Digest may contain a clue to this piece.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333964401291

Note:  I'd like to hear from anyone with an image of this illustration in print—or with some advice for this poor woman.

04845

The CartoonStock Cartoon Caption Contest No. 182

It's time to serve up another round of the CartoonStock Caption Contest. In contest number 182, a couple sit down at a dinner table with no food in sight and then work through their problems as only they can. The woman has thrown a fork at the man's forehead, apparently, and her stunned companion reacts.

The rules of the monthly cash prize contest have not changed (and neither has my description of them): five dollars buys up to three entries. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $135 into the first twenty-seven pay-to-play contests and this twenty-eighth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $140. Having achieved runner-up status with two previous entries, I've collected $200 from CartoonStock, so I'm still playing with the house's money, thank goodness. In fact, so few contestants enter that the odds are generally favorable even for us less-gifted caption writers. My three entries are shown below, above the break. The cartoonist is Derek Evernden.

"Are you sure it's my turn to cook?"
"You're beautiful when you're hungry."
"But we have two more hours of intermittent fasting."
* * *
"Very well, why don't I get the chopsticks?"

August 3, 2024 Update:  The Winner

The Judges Deliberate

Video added July 27, 2024

04699

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #855

For once I tried to take the high road in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #855 from the issue of June 26, 2023. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Liza Donnelly.

"From now on you talk to me before selling any rights-of-way."

These captions lacked direction:

"I always knew you could stay in your lane."
"Actually, it's my way, period."
"Remember, there's no jaywalking."

July 14, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

July 22, 2023 Update:  I voted for the caption from a little town called New York.

July 24, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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