Three pieces of original art by New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno (1904-1968) were auctioned by Hess Fine Art on Saturday. All three come from the estate of actress and socialite Nina Lunn Black (1924-2005). The first two are signed cartoons that were published in the pages of The New Yorker. The third is a crayon sketch entitled Les deux jolies soeurs, which anyone with high school French (or Google Translate) can tell you is Two Pretty Sisters. It is unsigned and unpublished, but demonstrates a sureness of hand consistent with Arno's.
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| "Partial letters visible at the left edge margin, our Gallerist believes this to be consistent with the artist[']s handwriting." |
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| https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/peter-arno-orig-cartoon-crayon-pencil-graphite-dr-1497-c-0ff43589d3?objectID=176759554&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=e48a68f94c471405a77df72280ee209d |
The hammer price of $600 has to be rounded up to $750 with the premium.
The estate also had a 1955 portrait by Bradshaw Crandell of Nina Lunn Black, allowing us to visualize the woman who owned three original Arno works. For what it's worth, she had at least two sisters...
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| https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/bradshaw-crandell-hollywood-actress-nina-lunn-bla-1467-c-9774dc6b97?objectID=176639710&algIndex=undefined&queryID=86923bcc445c44e01665726b7c7bc601 |
Note: I would like to hear from anyone who can provide additional evidence for this piece's authorship. Opinions are always welcome too.
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