Showing posts with label illustration art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illustration art. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Blog Post No. 4700: Peter Arno's Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe

In finding herself once more by the side of Ivanhoe, Rebecca was astonished at the keen sensation of pleasure which she experienced, even at a time when all around them both was danger, if not despair.
Ivanhoe
—Sir Walter Scott
 


Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe was published in December of 1819. In Chapter 29, Rebecca, the Jewish daughter of Isaac of York, tends to the wounded Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe after his injury in a tournament. Through the castle room's window she sees a violent battle raging just outside as the castle is stormed and, aghast, she relates what she sees to the bedridden knight.


But cartoonist Peter Arno's illustration of the scene is a lighthearted take on the adventure, with a smiling Ivanhoe appearing to be well on his way to recovery thanks to the gentle ministrations of Rebecca. Whatever fierce battle may be raging about the castle walls, there is no indication of it in this serene rendering.

Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80

According to a fraying label on the back, the drawing was published in a February issue of The American Magazine. The original art came recently to eBay from the estate of American painter Harry Shoulberg (1903-1995).




Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80


Arno's illustration is related in style and subject matter to his depiction of Cyrano de Bergerac, which came to light at auction late last year. The levity of the piece may very well link it to a humorous series of one-page condensed classics written by Munro Leaf (of Ferdinand the Bull renown) that were illustrated by Arno. These include Robinson Crusoe, the only full example we've seen in these pages. There are also four atypical Arno drawings in his 1944 collection Man in the Shower, illustrations of literary classics that just might be part of this selfsame series. This is all a conjecture at this point but, I hope, not an unreasonable one.



Peter Arno's signature

Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80


Ivanhoe
Peter Arno
Original art
The American Magazine, February 1940, p. 80

Peter Arno's signature




Peter Arno
eBay listing ended May 18, 2024

Peter Arno
eBay item description







After a lowball best offer of $250 was refused, the seller's less lowball counteroffer of $400 was accepted.


Eugène Delacroix handled the same subject back in 1823, just four years after the novel's publication. Today his painting is hanging at the Met. Like most artists who depict the scene, Delacroix focuses on Rebecca describing the battle to Ivanhoe, just as Scott did.



August 5, 2024 Update:  I have added the publication history in The American Magazine for February 1940 to the images of the original art. Here's the published page:
Ivanhoe, February 1940
Scan courtesy of Jeff Nelson



Note:  Anyone with access to printed magazine illustrations of major literary works by Peter Arno, or original art of the same ilk, please get in touch.


The Attempted Bloggery Centennial Posts 💯
Blog Post No. 100
Blog Post No. 200:  A Shaggy Dog Story



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Thursday, December 8, 2022

Richard Taylor: The Fish

New Yorker cartoonist Richard Taylor's watercolor The Fish was sold at auction yesterday in Bloomfield. It is signed R.T. rather than R. Taylor, as befits its diminutive proportions. It is a humorous drawing but not a gag cartoon. The specific, unexplained scenario of a man in his pajamas kneeling at an island shore as a giant angry-looking fish swims past suggest this is a humorous illustration meant to accompany some explanatory text, perhaps a story. The man may have hoped to catch some breakfast with his bare hands, and then thought better of it.


The lot includes a completely unrelated print of St. Bartholomew being skinned alive in 69 A.D. It's hard to conceive of the collector who would want both these pieces.


Matte burn is clearly visible around the edges. Art dealer Maynard Walker established his gallery on E. 57th Street in 1935. He should have known about acid-free mattes.
The Fish
Richard Taylor
Original art
The original gallery label is from an unknown date. We do know that Maynard Walker lent a Taylor watercolor to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1941 for its Twentieth International Exhibition of Water Colors, Taylor representing Canada. It seems reasonable to date this label to the 1940s, give or take. The gallery price of $350 seems high, though, especially compared with the current presale estimate of $400 to $600 when adjusted for inflation.

Richard Taylor
Nye & Company listing accessed December 3, 2022

Richard Taylor
Nye & Company item description

The lot was sold yesterday by Nye & Company for just over half the low estimate.



Note:  The Fish could be a magazine or book illustration, or it could be something else. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has seen this drawing in print.


I'm also interested in other original artwork by Richard Taylor. You can see the kind of things I like to post in the archives.


If you know something about the print depicting the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew and you want to tell me about it, go right ahead. I won't try to stop you. 






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Saturday, December 18, 2021

Barney Tobey: Chess Players

Barney Tobey's drawing of two men playing chess was originally sold by the Nicholls Gallery in New York to a collector in Lansing. It may or may not have been included in his 1976 exhibition there. It is apparently an illustration or spot drawing but its publication history is uncertain. It was offered on eBay in August at $599, then the price was raised $1,000. It was sold in September for an undisclosed best offer price.




There is liberal use of white out.

Barney Tobey's signature



Based on the pencil lines, Tobey relocated his signature slightly to the right.





Barney Tobey
eBay listing ended September 5, 2021

Barney Tobey
eBay item description


The drawing was offered on eBay at two different price points, subsequently sold for an unknown amount.






Note:  I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can shed more light on this piece.







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Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Gahan Wilson: Joystick

An original illustration by Gahan Wilson, c. 1985, has been sold on eBay for $2,250. An executive, presumably, is shown directing the actions of an employee via a joystick controller with a cable. Wilson's colors are vibrant and his crosshatching is exquisite. But what precisely is the context of this image?



Gahan Wilson
eBay listing ended November 26, 2020

Gahan Wilson
eBay item description




In September, prior to its sale on eBay, this original artwork was offered for auction at Hake's. Here we learn that the artwork was created for a financial services brochure:

Gahan Wilson
Hake's listing of September 24, 2020

Here then are all the Gahan Wilson illustrations from the Hake's sale shown together. It seems they were created for the same brochure.








Further auction details from Hake's:






The four smaller illustrations from that last set have since been offered individually on eBay. They are still available.
Image added January 19, 2021


November 13, 2021 Update:  Sold!


August 22, 2024 Update:  Two others sold!


August 16, 2025 Update:  Sold!





Note:  I'd like to hear from anyone with a copy of the financial brochure in which this artwork appeared.

Images of original artwork by Gahan Wilson are sought after for purposes of public discussion here on Attempted Bloggery.


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