Ludwig Bemelmans: A Girl on Horseback

An original spot drawing of a girl sitting on horseback by Madeline author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans was published in The New Yorker in May of 1961. The art was framed in-house, apparently, and became part of the collection of writers Neil and Susan Sheehan. As a writer for the magazine, Susan Sheehan must have had access to a very nice selection of original art. This piece was sold on May 15 by Second Story Books.

Ludwig Bemelmans
Framed original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans's initials

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay listing ended May 15, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/406928826275?itmmeta=01KRWEX85XX6Z4AP9QZ4ATTCHM&hash=item5ebed91fa3:g:zkgAAeSw12VqBzuq

Ludwig Bemelmans
eBay item description

It looked great in print, yet readers could easily have missed it in the back of the magazine sandwiched between columns of advertising.

Ludwig Bemelmans
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

Ludwig Bemelmans
Original spot drawing
The New Yorker, May 13,1961, p. 161

With a spot drawing by Ludwig Bemelmans

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1961-05-13/flipbook/160/

05275

Peter Arno: Former Femme Fatale

The life of Mata Hari informs our views of the alluring secret agent as seductress to this day. In 1917, the exotic dancer was convicted as a German spy and killed by firing squad in France.

Come 1940 and a second World War, cartoonist Peter Arno revisited the idea of the femme fatale as spy, giving her a new code name and her story a decidedly different ending.

"That's Q37, in her day one of the most effective secret agents this country ever had."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, August 24, 1940, p. 17

The original art came to light at Halls in early 2016.

Halls, 16th March 2016

https://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/h107-085_listing/44

Given a presale estimate of 600-800 GBP, it sold for a healthy 2,100 GBP.

https://www.lotsearch.net/artist/peter-arno/archive?orderBy=dollarBasedPrice-startPrice&order=ASC&perPage=50&page=1

The buyer, in all probability, was London illustration dealer Chris Beetles. The work was included in the catalogue for Beetles's annual The Illustrators sale for 2016:

Chris Beetles The Illustrators 2016 Catalogue

https://issuu.com/chrisbeetles/docs/the_illustrators_2016_cover_text_co

Michael Maslin's biography Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist had just been published, and it was cited by Beetles under Further Reading.

A scanned image shows some of the details. Arno's plaza seems German or Prussian. The two paired men, military and civilian, walk in lock step. That uniform of the man in front is impressive right down to the spurs. As we read left to right, the men lead our eyes to Q37 herself, in widow's garb, looking after her six children. The big joke is not merely the number of progeny but that they represent so many different races. Such racial caricatures were deemed acceptable in the pages of The New Yorker of 1940 by the editorial staff, the readership, and the advertisers. 

"That's Q37, in her day one of the most effective secret agents
this country ever had."
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, August 24, 1940, p. 17

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166922564572?mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l1120&ch=osgood&euid=d2fd7229aaae45b9

163679d70c0ff7d&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20240817013610&segname=11021

Here then is how the cartoon appeared in the magazine:

A spot drawing and a cartoon by Peter Arno

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1940-08-24/flipbook/016/

* * *

Horse in a blanket
Spot drawing
Artist Unidentified
The New Yorker, August 24, 1940, p. 1

Note:  I would appreciate hearing from anyone who retains a price list from the Chris Beetles 2016 catalogue for The Illustrators show. The item in question is no. 119. 

Also, the spot artist's initials may be recognizable to someone in the know.

Do I need to keep asking for original art by Peter Arno to display in these pages? Yes, I think I do.

05219

Edward Sorel and Bruce McCall at "Covering The New Yorker"

"Covering The New Yorker," the exhibition now hanging at L'Alliance New York, spans some three decades of original New Yorker cover art. Edward Sorel and Bruce McCall are represented by two covers each. All works in the show are loaned by the artists or their estates unless other wise noted.

Crush Hour
Edward Sorel
The New Yorker, January 31, 1994

Sorel's I ♥ Babel, from the issue of October 2, 1995, includes a depiction of the Alliance Française at the lower left. Now renamed L'Alliance New York, it is the institution hosting this show.

I ♥ Babel

Edward Sorel

The New Yorker, October 2, 1995

Bruce McCall's 2014 cover turns the tables on the horse carriages of Central Park.

The Cart Before the Horses
Bruce McCall
The New Yorker, April 28, 2014

McCall's Lost Times Square appears in the show courtesy of David Remnick and Esther Fein.

Lost Times Square
Bruce McCall
The New Yorker, May 31, 1999

04876

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #919

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #919 from the issue of October 28, 2024, a a pair of cowboys on horseback are chasing a horse driving a convertible. The cowboy with the lasso is speaking. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Michael Maslin.

"How did you think he'd leave town by high noon?"

These captions didn't sit right:

"You mean he's the only one with GPS?"

"What do you suppose is his horsepower?"

"This is worse than when the dog caught the car."

"Someone should post a speed limit."

November 9, 2024 Update:  The Finalists

November 17, 2024 Update:  I voted for the caption from Silver Spring.

November 23, 2024 Update:  The Winner

04783

Iceland 2024: Fridheimar

On Thursday, January 25, we took a Golden Circle tour by bus. The first stop was Fridheimar, a series of greenhouses with artificial light suitable for growing tomatoes in the Icelandic winter. The photos are by members of my family.

Claim to fame

An introduction to hothouse tomatoes

Ready-to-serve tomato soup and bread

Green ripens into red.

Outside the greenhouse

Icelandic horses

 

04574

Garth Williams: And They're Off!

Illustrator Garth Williams's attempt to break into The New Yorker in the early 1940s produced a good deal of unpublished work (along with seven sales). A racetrack spot, shown here, is certainly not bad but it's not especially compelling either. Given the magazine's surfeit of talent, Williams was unable to carve out a meaningful space for himself there.

Garth Williams
AbeBooks listing accessed May 8, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/art-prints/Horses-Leaving-Starting-Gate-Williams-Garth/31176568697/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=readmore_high

04052

Paul Degen: Don't Cry Over Spilled Ink

Six years ago a signed, limited edition of Swiss New Yorker artist Paul Degen's Don't Cry Over Spilled Ink (1985) was sold on eBay for an undisclosed Best Offer somewhere south of $125. With art books, an eBay listing is only as good as its photos and this one, alas, is somewhat lacking. Were there no decent digital cameras back in 2016? Let's not cry over it.

Paul Degen
eBay listing ended August 1, 2016

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1985-NEW-YORKER-SWISS-ARTIST-PAUL-DEGEN-SIGNED-LTD-EDITION-HUMOR-MUSIC-GOLF-/351470796119?hash=item51d54abd57%3Ag%3ADh4AAOSwHnFVvmuf&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Paul Degen
eBay item description

04042