Attempted Bloggery: print

Showing posts with label print. Show all posts

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Edward Koren: The Need for Entertainment

Heritage Auctions initially described Edward Koren's The Need for Entertainment (1986) as original illustration art.

It is a signed print, of course, an artist's proof. Furthermore, the listing had stated, "It's been said of the various cartoons published in the New Yorker over the years that they seem to be whimsically obtuse, and this illustration by Ed Koren is no exception. Produced in ink on paper . . . " When it was sold yesterday in the Wednesday Comic Art & Illustration Select Auction, the item description had been substantially corrected, although not the part about New Yorker cartoons being "whimsically obtuse."

Again, the art was originally described as an illustration:

By the time of the sale, the updated description correctly identified the piece as an artist's proof aside from the numbered print edition:

Still, the revised description maintained the odd implication that this print is somehow a New Yorker cartoon. It isn't, of course. The new description did correct the notion that what we have is an original illustration in ink on paper. And the description continues to suggest that New Yorker cartoons have been described as "whimsically obtuse." By whom? All of the cartoons, or just some?

Four days before the sale, bidding was at only $25 despite the incorrect description. Very likely then, no one was fooled.

Edward Koren
Heritage Auctions Wednesday Comic Art & Illustration Select Auction #322603 listing accessed 1/17/2026

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/edward-koren-the-need-for-entertainment-illustration-original-art-1986-/a/322603-48143.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515#

The sale price:

Note: Feel free to share original art by Edward Koren here whether cartoon, illustration, or original print. Whimsicality and obtuseness are always welcome.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Barbara Westman: Hanover Street, Boston

Before she illustrated seventeen covers for The New Yorker between the years 1983 and 1992, much of Barbara Westman's art celebrated on the city of Boston. Her woodblock print, Hanover Street, was published in an edition of fifty in 1967. Print no. 8 was sold last year on eBay.

My personal favorite:

Barbara Westman
eBay listing ended August 24, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364837588168?_skw=Yorker+signed&itmmeta=01JCYHXBY28EM00FFCW7YVZPFW&hash=item54f203ccc8:g:2RAAAOSwen9mDxva&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKm%2FuuD9Z1Uc%2F9L6Vs6zpy6sxwTVshCl%2Bmd3KMwCvMwN4Be4UYucaO1ZvqXVZM%2

FazUhk7Bocjexiq87S63bKz4lLgEbnJUKP6t3l288DCWlrGHzRnlYoBRNKlRZAThuplyRor3pDVXrMGo%2FgLoQsAErv%2Bw6UMLSedeLJQofXSpm7zuXxfMNrkRqpYiSZudAgtZmbws3j7l0jt14OwjirFrXx5aqSGDsa2LdTSAB0gh4LEQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5a_9dHnZA

Barbara Westman
eBay item description

Note: For more informative reading, see "The Wild Art of Barbara Westman."

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Saturday, October 19, 2024

Barbara Westman: Louisburg Square

A watercolor of Louisburg Square, Boston, by Barbara Westman was published in The Bean & the Scene: Drawings of Boston and Cambridge in 1969.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235570216936?_skw=Barbara+Westman&itmmeta=01JAKYW5T09EZ4B0X5DJF2K3RP&hash=item36d9143fe8:g:ox8AAOSw~wll7mm
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UAonNB0QFOuJ7RFHmo5my13ftd%2BJl8xBMJEDcVUYD%2B2miyUPNFYF%2FfkRRvnEzwsQC8ifE0oBvD9qFXWMdKCvE90paLryDUSlCnDy0rVw%2Bl
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eAVwLvRKF5sjz0Rd6HhR7453H178Ixw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4zd8P7UZA

In 1971, the Barre Publishers issued Louisberg Square as an unsigned print. Westman was to become a cover artist for The New Yorker in the 1980s and '90s.

The edition size of the print is not stated. An example was sold on eBay in 2015 for $35 with a $24.04 shipping fee. Other copies of the print are currently listed on the auction site for considerably more.

At least two copies are currently available on eBay:

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Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Ronald Searle: Portrait of Fredrick Alexander

Fredrick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) or F.M., as he was known, developed the Alexander Technique, an alternative therapy designed to teach habits that promote good posture and improved health. Illustrator Ronald Searle (1920-2011) benefitted from Alexander's methods and was understandably grateful. His ink portrait of the practitioner was published in the News Chronicle of February 26, 1953.

Searle gave the original drawing to Alexander adding the inscription "For 'F.M.' from the reconstituted artist with thanks." It is after this inscribed drawing that a lithographic edition of 50 was published, numbered but not signed, making this possibly unique among Searle's prints. It seems unlikely he personally was involved in the lithograph's production. Print no. 34/50 was sold on April 23 at Roseberys, London.

Ronald Searle
Roseberys London auction April 23, 2024 accessed April 14, 2024

https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0680-lot-563499-ronald-searle-cbe-rdibritish-1920-2011portrait-of-fredrick-alexanderoffset?el=563499&pn=1&pp=25

Sold!

Note: For a far more comprehensive look at Ronald Searle's relationship with Fredrick Alexander, see Matt Jones's 2012 post "The Alexander Technique" in Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog. It's right here.

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Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Mary Petty: These Petty Prints

In the 1940s, the American Folio Company of Westport issued lithographic prints of some of Mary Petty's wonderful New Yorker covers. The prints do not bear the New Yorker logo and are unsigned. No edition size is specified. The quality of the printing doesn't seem overly exceptional. Here are a few examples:

The blue line at the bottom of the image provides an indication of just how out of register this print is. Perhaps that's part of the reason it seems blurry in the photos.