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Life Magazine: John Held, Jr., Michelangelo of the Flapper
The Most of John Held, Jr. was published in 1972 and a book review appeared in Life magazine. The review identifies the medium seen in yesterday's post as linoleum block prints, which raises the...
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John Held, Jr.: Flapper in Steel
This painted steel cut-out figure of a dancing flapper is no-doubt based on a drawing by John Held, Jr. Over six feet tall, it's a bit of an unusual piece and did not find a buyer last year at...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #451
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #451 for November 17, 2014. The drawing is byJ. C. Duffy."Who cares if our banker is a swine?"I considered this caption as well:"Why can't he...
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Cheers from Muriel Jacobs
It's game day! Cartoonist Muriel Jacobs has made a couple of loose drawings, each featuring an energetic cheerleader. The C apparently is for Cartoonists.Two cheerleaders by Muriel JacobsMuriel...
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Tony Sarg Over the Intersection
Illustrator and puppeteer Tony Sarg created crowd scenes of New York that were collected in a 1926 book. The following year he conceived the idea of placing balloons featuring cartoon characters in the...
View ArticleRemember Alice?
One of the great anti-war protest songs was Arlo Guthrie's"Alice's Restaurant" (1967). When I was in Junior High School our music teacher played this long song for us in its entirety, but I don't know...
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I Believe in Fires at Midnight
"Fire at Midnight" appears on Jethro Tull's 1977 album "Songs from the Wood." Appropriately, it is the concluding track."Fire at Midnight" from "Songs from the Wood" (1977, Remastered 2003)Performed by...
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Kiss to Perform at the 2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Today Kiss will be performing a medley at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. What an honor! It therefore seems to be an apt time to recall Ian Anderson's 1977 prediction about the expected longevity...
View ArticleManhattan Protest March
Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was killed last August by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Police and eyewitness accounts have been contradictory. On Monday a grand jury decided...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #452--Almost
"3. You have to enter every week. Did you enter this week?"--Robert Mankoff"Seven Reasons It’s Hard to Win the Caption Contest"November 8, 2014No, I did not enter this week. I never got around to...
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My Entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for September/October 2014
Here are my two entries in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for September/October 2014. As always, the Moment cartoon is by Bob Mankoff. Of note, one of the finalists is Lawrence Wood, who has won...
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2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation
One of my favorite things to do in New York is to attend the balloon inflation for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This takes place on the Wednesday night before the parade. The photographs...
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Would You Spend $1 Million on This?
Cases of art forgery are nothing new, unfortunately. The case of John Re in today's Times is remarkable though not only for its scope, but for the bizarre fact that he put about $1 million of his...
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Strong and Stupid: Al Capp's Unfinished Li'l Abner Art
"Naturally I want to catch someone strong and stupid...." Well, who doesn't? This unfinished "Li'l Abner" comic strip by Al Capp is fully inked except for the words. The man on the far left is wearing...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #453--Almost
For the second week in a row I neglected to submit my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest. The caption for Contest #453 was all written and ready to go, but I was distracted for a number of...
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George Price: Christmas Trees
This original cartoon art by George Price reflects this time of year. It was offered at auction six years ago by Swann Galleries. It sold for just under its low estimate, even with the 20 percent...
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Saul Steinberg's Santa for Hallmark
Saul Steinberg designed a number of Christmas cards for Hallmark in the 1950's. Three copies of one of them showed up on eBay some months ago.Saul Steinberg, Christmas card for HallmarkSaul Steinberg,...
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Roger Duvoisin: A New Yorker Spot Drawing of the 1939 New York World's Fair
The original artwork for a New Yorker spot drawing by Roger Duvoisin was offered in September on eBay. The illustration's subject is the Borden Corporation attraction at the 1939 New York World's Fair...
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Seeing is Believing: Rea Irvin for The New Yorker
"Are you one of the doubting ones, still waiting to be convinced that advertising in The New Yorker pays?" In 1939, the New Yorker devoted a page in the magazine to recruiting potential advertisers....
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Sexcapades: With a Handshake from Al Ross
It must have been a cordial visit. In 1976, more than two decades after the 1953 publication of Sexcapades, cartoonist Al Ross met with one Ben. Ross signed and inscribed to him a copy of Sexcapades...
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