Maurice Sendak: Studies for R. O. Blechman's Beer Man

Maurice Sendak's sheet of concept sketches depict a German beer man creating and enjoying his product. These drawings of the estimable brewer were done in 1997 for a proposed commercial R. O. Blechman was to animate for a Japanese advertising agency. The beer man concept was rejected by the agency, and twenty years later the artwork failed to find a buyer at auction. Cheers anyway!

Maurice Sendak
Bonhams New York

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24252/lot/172/

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Emily Flake Drew These

Last month at Parsons School of Design I attended a panel discussion which dared to ask, Is The American Bystander "The Last Great Humor Magazine?" The short answer is yes.

During the panel, New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake unobtrusively made some pencil sketches on a folded sheet of paper. At the conclusion, illustrator and collagist Stephen Kroninger sagely suggested that she donate the sheet to a worthy cause: this blog. She seemed surprised that I would be interested in publicizing these fanciful images but she was willing to humor me by writing "Emily Flake drew these" across the top.

"Emily Flake drew these"

At the panel discussion, Ms. Flake can be seen putting pencil to this sheet of paper.

Panel, left to right: Sam Gross, Steve Young, Drew Friedman, Emily Flake, Stephen Kroninger, and Michael Gerber

Is The American Bystander "The Last Great Print Humor Magazine?"

April 16, 2019
NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium
Parsons School of Design

https://nycomicssymposium.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/the-american-bystander-april-16-2019-at-7pm/?fbclid=IwAR1jlre9kjB8KtcTEDKU3uG-JGNZCVn2UUdVaJbiMQv14riOeAf2gRnqaYQ

Note:  My thanks to illustrator Stephen Kroninger for spotting Emily Flake's page of whimsy and brokering my acquisition of it. Stephen remains a strong supporter of Attempted Bloggery and is the only contributor to have had his work exhibited at MoMA.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Emily Flake

Pencil Sketches

Stephen Kroninger

Drew Friedman

Sam Gross

The American Bystander

Attempted Bloggery's Sketchy Index

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Peter Arno: Roughing It on a Yacht

Reader and contributor David from Manhattan writes about a sketch by Peter Arno done on board ship:

Arno's biographer has seen the attached, but almost no one else, so I thought I'd share it. Back in the 1990s, I was friends with an antiquarian book dealer by the name of James Carr. You might have heard the name. The ultimate packrat, he turned a five story building on the east side into his private warehouse of books, prints, photos, jewelry and many many other things. Tough to get him to part with anything, but I helped him put together consignments for auction. We once got into a discussion about Arno, and he showed me a rough of the artist's that was apparently one page in a guest book for a yacht owned by John Wanamaker, Jr. Carr had long ago chopped up the book and sold the signatures within, but still had the Arno. Long story short, it became a Christmas gift one year after a very successful auction. Not exactly side-splitting, and one suspects Arno promptly forgot about it. [Michael] Maslin thought early 1930s. The watermark on the paper is XXIX, presumably 1929. The book turned up in a garage in Tuxedo Park that was being used for storage. One of the running jokes with Carr is that he swore that somewhere  he still had a couple of George Price drawings. He'd vow that this time, he'd find them, but they never surfaced, at least when I was around.

Peter Arno, "Yes—this is our little skiff."

Note:  While awaiting my own invitation onto a luxury yacht, I've put together these links for your Arno education.

Peter Arno's new biography by Michael Maslin on Amazon.com.

Peter Arno conversation at the Butler Library on April 18.

Peter Arno posts on Ink Spill.

Peter Arno in Chris Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery.

Peter Arno in the April Vanity Fair.

Peter Arno posts on this blog.

By the way, can you guess this blog's secret password?

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Bob Staake's Bluebird

This original colored pencil drawing by Bob Staake will be sold by the ABFFE this evening at auction.

Bob Staake,  Bluebird
 Original sketch, colored pencil, 8.5" x 11",
Schwartz & Wade/Random House, April 2013

Image added May 30, 2013

http://abffesilentauction.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/event-program-2013.pdf

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Six Sendak Sketches

These six pencil sketches by famed children's book illustrator Maurice Sendak are being offered at Bonhams's Fine Books and Manuscripts sale on October 10.  Sendak has donated all of his original book illustrations to the Rosenbach Foundation in Philadelphia, leaving avid fans and collectors to scramble after mostly his lesser works.

Lot No: 1127

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 270 x 200 mm, signed lower right ("Maurice Sendak"), depicting Emil, the bird-like Wild Thing, in typical pose.

Estimate: US$3,000 - 5,000

October 10, 2011:  Sold for US$2,750 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Lot No: 1128

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 230 x 300 mm, signed lower right ("Maurice Sendak"), depicting Little Bear in overcoat and hat, and Little Bear in the arms of Father Bear.

Estimate: US$2,000 - 3,000

October 10, 2011:  Sold for US$1,875 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Lot No: 1129

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 300 x 225 mm, signed lower right ("Maurice Sendak") and dated September 2, 1987, depicting Edward Lear's Jumblies after their arrival across the Western Sea, in their "useful cart" being pulled by a pig who is drunk on "Ring-Bo-Ree," additionally inscribed "Lear."

Sendak illustrated the Lear poem in Sing a Song of Popcorn (edited by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, 1988).

Estimate: US$2,000 - 3,000

October 10, 2011:  Sold for US$2,000 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Lot No: 1130

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 230 x 300 mm, signed lower center ("Maurice Sendak"), depicting a prairie dog, a fox, and two small bears, additionally captioned "9 prairie dog ... 4 fox (Poppy, Pete?)," crease near lower right corner.

Poppy and Pete are two silly foxes who feature in The Little Bear Movie.

Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,000

October 10, 2011:  Sold for US$1,500 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Lot No: 1131

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 200 x 160 mm, signed lower right ("Maurice Sendak"), depicting an ebullient fairground operator, surrounded by the words "Fun! Ha! Ha! Ho! Hee!"

Possibly a sketch for E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker, or a preliminary design for the stage set for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's production.
See illustration overleaf.

Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,000

October 10, 2011:  Unsold

Lot No: 1132

SENDAK, MAURICE. B.1928.

Original pencil sketch on tracing paper, 230 x 300 mm, signed lower right ("Maurice Sendak"), depicting an irritated-looking cow in profile.

Estimate: US$1,000 - 1,500

October 10, 2011:  Unsold

The auction listings are here.

December 21, 2013 Update:  The cow drawing has now been sold by Bonhams in its December 11 sale.

Maurice Sendak, Annoyed Cow

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21029/lot/1281/

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21029/lot/1281/

Note: Did you know my very first blog post was about Sendak poster art?  You can take a trip down memory lane with me here.

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