Attempted Bloggery: fire fighter

Showing posts with label fire fighter. Show all posts

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Peter Arno: The Fireman's Pledge

An early cartoon original by Peter Arno was sold by Clarke Auction Gallery of Larchmont in 2020.

"Now remember your promise!"
Peter Arno
Original art
For Members Only (1935)

Arno imbues the rescue scene with all the bawdy innuendo he can muster. That fireman is surely brave, but he is no match for the mature, stout, playful, woman descending the ladder in her flimsy nightgown.

"Now remember your promise!"
Peter Arno
Framed original art
For Members Only (1935)

Alas, there is some surface loss to the original.

Conveniently, a caption has been written on the back: "Now remember you promised!"

The back of the frame

The handwritten caption differs slightly from what is printed in For Memebers Only.

The caption

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery listing of April 26, 2020

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/peter-arno-american-1904-1968-now-remember-50-c-01241b78bb

Peter Arno
Clarke Auction Gallery item description

https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/clarke/fine-art-jewelry-antiques-asian-midcentury-auction-5040?page=2#catalog

Febrary 11, 2026 Update: The cartoon was published in the 1935 collection Peter Arno's For Members Only with the caption "Now remember your promise!" I therefore have corrected the caption slightly from "Now remember, you promised!"

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Saturday, February 7, 2026

Peter Arno: The Fireman's Farewell

In a 1939 New Yorker cartoon, Peter Arno's firefighter bids farewell to a befuddled homeowner:

"Well, if you ever need us again just give us a ring."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, June 17, 1939, p. 18

The cartoon reads left to right, foreground to background. The firefighter is the most prominent and the most illuminated figure. He is leaving the scene, but he leans back into the cartoon panel with a raised arm. You can't miss him. The poor, portly homeowner in his robe is seen next seemingly trying to lean back out of the frame. There is no place for him to go. The smoldering ruins of the home are behind him. The firemen have left behind great reflecting puddles of water in the middle ground. The birdcage is a fine comic detail which may or may not be noticed later. Anyone whose eyes linger over an Arno drawing can expect to be rewarded.

The original art, framed and matted, was sold yesterday at Heritage Auctions. It was the useful practice of Barbara Nicholls of the Nicholls Gallery in the 1970s and 1980s to write the caption on the matte in a calligraphic hand. No doubt Irvin Greif, Jr., purchased the artwork from her. Her ink has faded over the years more than Arno's.

"Well, if you ever need us again just give us a ring."
Peter Arno
Framed original art
The New Yorker, June 17, 1939, p. 18

On the back of the artwork, The New Yorker's founding editor Harold Ross approved the drawing with his customary R.

Verso with Ross's R

Bidding opened at $1,250 some three weeks before the sale with no reserve. The first bid appeared quickly, proof, if any were needed, that Arno's star continues to shine bright in the firmament of New Yorker cartoonists.

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions Mainstream Illustration listing of February 6, 2026

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/mainstream-illustration/peter-arno-american-1904-1968-just-give-us-a-ring-new-yorker-cartoon-june-17-1939ink-and-wash-on/a/15263-17108.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions Mainstream Illustration item description

The work sold for $5,000 plus a 25% buyer's premium of $1,250. In other words, the final buyer's premium was the same as the amount of the opening bid.