A watercolor and ink drawing by cartoonist Ed Arno changed hands on eBay nearly ten years ago. Yes, I'm just getting to it.
The art depicts a red-carpeted hotel entrance. The uniformed doorman, umbrella in hand, steps out of doors to whistle for a cab while a man in business attire waits warm and dry inside.
It's snowing in the great city, although you might miss this if you didn't look carefully just to the sides of the awning.
It's hard to imagine this artwork as anything but a proposed New Yorker cover. The eBay seller's description suggests it was used as an actual New Yorker cover, but sometimes we must indulge sellers their delusions of grandeur. If mika-1234 really thought this was a published cover from The New Yorker, I doubt she would have let it go for $53.58.
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| Large detail of upper portion including where the magazine's logo presumably would go |
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| Large detail of lower portion of art |
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| Detail of doorman blowing his whistle |
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| Ed Arno's signature |
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| Verso |
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| Ed Arno eBay listing ended January 28, 2016 |
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| Ed Arno eBay item description |
Note: Personally, I don't fault The New Yorker's editors for not buying this cover proposal. It seems to not tell us enough about the personalities of the two men who are shown here. I can imagine someone like Charles Saxon doing a lot more with the concept.
As you may have already gathered from your reading here, this blog endeavors to showcase New Yorker cover proposals and New Yorker cover originals, from Ed Arno art to Peter Arno art. Not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily in a timely fashion.
Ten years ago, as a younger blogger, I was not in the habit of archiving the eBay bid history. Not seeing it here, I kind of miss it.
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