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The Comedians: Lost in Translation
From today's poster sale at Swann Auction Galleries, two classic comedy teams are depicted in three overseas movie posters. Mickey Mouse joins Laurel and Hardy for good measure.The Marx Brothers, "Un...
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Ronald Searle: Birthday Fish
A birthday fish? This self-portrait as a fish was given by Ronald Searle to his secretary Jean Ellsmoor for her birthday in 1962. It is available from the Chris Beetles Gallery in London.Ronald Searle,...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #462
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #462 for February 9, 2015. The drawing is by John Klossner."The good news is that he speaks softly."Note: Last week, Joe Dator took us to the...
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A Ronald Searle Valentine: 39 Steps...
Fans of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers will no doubt be familiar with "The 39 Steps," his 1935 classic. The title refers to a mysterious spy organization and has nothing to do with steps in the sense of...
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Ronald Searle: Morning Glow
How does one follow up yesterday's Valentine's Day post featuring 39 Steps..., a superb cat drawing by Ronald Searle depicting some heroic--let's call it exercise? The artist's Morning Glow from 1983...
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Charles Addams: Mental Hazard
Happy President's Day! Today's blog post features original New Yorker cartoon art and is dedicated to all those Presidents who've spent some time on the golf course. The artist is Charles Addams and...
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Eadweard Muybridge: Animal Locomotion
Photographic studies of people and animals in motion by Eadweard Muybridge became essential, early reference works for those seeking to understand how bodies move. Five of his works are being offered...
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Charles Addams Ski Cartoon for Sam Marcus
If you were to commission a drawing from Charles Addams circa 1944, what would you ask for? This pleasant dilemma was faced by an Army friend of Addams fan Sam Marcus, who asked the cartoonist to...
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The Addams Family: Wednesday and Pugsley Back from Summer Camp
With the art world still reeling over the nearly $300,000,000 sale price achieved by a Gauguin painting of two Tahitian women, it is my contrarian preference to note instead a strong showing on the...
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A Charles Addams Valentine
Christie's, the venerable auction house, gives this polar watercolor by Charles Addams the title For the Momma Bear. On reflection, I'm sure they'd call "For the Momma Bear" a dedication or an...
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Charles Addams: The Werewolf of Paris
In 1969, Charles Addams drew a five-panel illustration of Wednesday Addams reading The Werewolf of Paris. It was created for Children's Book Week. The original artwork was sold at Christie's in 2012 to...
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Ronald Searle: Catcher
The weather, at least in the northeast, is decidedly not yet appropriate for baseball, but pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training in more southerly climes. A New York sketchbook...
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Ronald Searle: Pitcher
With baseball's opening day six weeks away, pitchers and catchers are now in spring training. A drawing by Ronald Searle, apparently a spot for TV Guide, shows a pitcher kicking up a storm. Searle's...
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Ninety Years Ago at Your Newsstand
Ninety years ago, the first issue of the New Yorker was at newsstands. It featured Rea Irvin's placidly observant dandy on its cover. This magazine cover is an iconic image today, but in 1925 it must...
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A Look at the New Yorker's First Issue
Ninety years ago, if you had picked up that first issue of the New Yorker on your neighborhood newsstand, you would have seen very little advertising and not all that much editorial content....
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Saul Steinberg: The American Sketchbook
Fourteen drawings were published in The American Sketchbook,Saul Steinberg's stunning color calendar for 1968. Steinberg started publishing calendars with Hallmark in 1960. Prior to this, he had...
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Saul Steinberg: The 1960 Calendar
Saul Steinberg's first calendar for Hallmark was published in 1960. A rare copy showed up on eBay and was sold for $100 last week after two previous weeks of failing to attract any bids. I have it on...
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Saul Steinberg: The 1969 Calendar
Hallmark's final calendar by Saul Steinberg was published in 1969. This copy did not find a buyer after three weeks on eBay.Saul Steinberg, 1969 Hallmark CalendarSaul Steinberg, May1969Saul Steinberg,...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #463
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #463 for February 16, 2015. The drawing is by Michael Maslin."I reckon it's suppertime back at the ranch."Along the way, I considered a few...
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Ronald Searle: Sunday Afternoon (1982)
It's Sunday afternoon and even the pets are bored in this colorful 1982 drawing by Ronald Searle.Ronald Searle,Sunday Afternoon, 1982Christie's South Kensington, December 14,...
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