Ronald Searle: An Autographed Card

An autographed card with a drawing of a woman's head and neck was signed by Ronald Searle and dated January of 1960. Removed from its matte, it was sold over the summer on eBay by a seller who asserts it belonged to "a great friend of Ronald Searle." If so, it seems somewhat impersonal, bearing no dedication.

Ronald Searle's signature

Ronald Searle
eBay listing ended August 22, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324750584594?mkpid=0&emsid=e11010.m1951.l7494&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=344a9b6c644b432cb4b661339b8ddc24&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20210821205101&segname=11010&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cut%3Dut%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Ronald Searle
eBay item description

Ronald Searle
eBay bid history
Six bidders, eleven bids

The drawing is somewhat reminiscent of Searle's cover for Graphis 80 published in 1958. The seller's suggestion that the figure is "possibly in drag" seems unlikely to reflect Searle's intent.

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Lee Lorenz: Moment of Reflection

In an original eight-panel cartoon by Lee Lorenz, a woman crawling through the desert finds an oasis—and something even better.

Lee Lorenz, original cartoon art

Versos

EBay Listing Ended March 18, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEE-LORENZ-Original-2-PART-Cartoon-WOMAN-VANITY-Artist-amp-Editor-New-Yorker-Mag-/301567551690?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4636d3a8ca&nma=true&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Lee Lorenz, original cartoon art

Note:  This one looks like an unpublished rough. If there is a published version out there somewhere and you know where to find it, drop me a line.

The New Yorker's former art editor and cartoon editor Lee Lorenz is quite prolific, so there must be a lot of his work in circulation. If you have an example or two for the blog, please let me know.

Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

Lee Lorenz

Original Cartoon Art

Lost in the Desert

Attempted Bloggery's Reflective Index

Send your camel to bed!

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Peter Arno's Lady in White

Peter Arno's lithograph Lady in White is printed in two colors, red and black. It depicts a young woman with eyes closed and head tilted forward wearing a large white hat and ruffled gown. The color red is used for the background and her lips. The darkest shades are used in the hair and the shadows. The composition is balanced by the large hat on top and the ballooning dress on the bottom. The lines of the curtain are vertical while the diagonals of the dress and of the curtain shadows direct the eye to the woman's décolletage.

The lithograph is signed and titled by Arno in pencil. It is not dated and no edition size is indicated.

Peter Arno, Lady in White

Skinner, April 13, 2006, Sale 2316, Lot 387

https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2316/lots/387

Note:  There don't seem to be all that many lithographs by Peter Arno and there isn't much information about them. Anyone with knowledge of publication dates, edition sizes, or other Arno original lithographs should get in touch.

Chris Wheeler's website has a copy of Lady in White with a better photograph. He also has a lithograph called Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, reportedly one of six created for the New York State Bar Association. So what do the other five look like?

This blog's previous posts about Peter Arno are just a click away. I will soon be wrapping up this series of posts about Arno, but I am always looking for photos and scans of original Arno artwork, correspondence, and other rarely-seen material. You do know how to reach me, right?

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