Friday, April 26, 2024

New Neighbors: Charles E. Martin Original New Yorker Cover Art

Postwar real estate development provided the inspiration for a number of New Yorker covers including the one that graced the issue of May 26, 1960. The artist was Charles E. Martin, who signed his work CEM. His original artwork was sold on Tuesday at Heritage Auctions. The auction house's listing calls the piece New Neighbors, which is an excellent title for it.

Charles E. Martin
Original art
The New Yorker, May 26, 1962


Martin's colors are darker in the foreground and brighter in the distance.
Charles E. Martin
Framed original art
The New Yorker, May 26, 1962
The backing reveals that the work was previously owned by artist Thomas George (1918-2014). Thoughtfully-preserved printing instructions indicate that the strap, or left-sided edge of the cover, was to be printed just as Martin painted it, and the magazine's logo was to be colored yellow, matching the plants in the foreground. (Heritage's first photo did not include the strap, an inexcusable practice in the proper presentation of New Yorker cover art.)

Charles E. Martin
Heritage Auctions listing of April 23, 2024


Charles E. Martin
Heritage Auctions item description


Charles E. Martin
The New Yorker, May 26, 1962

Charles E. Martin
Original art
The New Yorker, 
May 26, 1962






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Thursday, April 25, 2024

Construction Workers: Abe Birnbaum Original New Yorker Cover Art

An example of original cover art by Abe Birnbaum for The New Yorker was sold on Tuesday at Heritage Auctions. The 1960 magazine cover illustration depicts workers and cranes at a city construction site. The cranes extend upward and out of the image, which naturally serves to emphasize their height. The art is notable for Birnbaum's use of bold lines and flat, mostly primary, colors.

Abe Birnbaum
Original art
The New Yorker, August 13, 1960

Abe Birnbaum
Framed original art
The New Yorker, August 13, 1960

Abe Birnbaum
Heritage Auctions sale of April 23, 2024

Abe Birnbaum
Heritage Auctions item description


Abe Birnbaum
The New Yorker, August 13, 1960

Abe Birnbaum
Original art
The New Yorker, August 13, 1960




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Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Charles Addams: Ski Bump

Among those New Yorker artists whose work is prized by collectors, few generate the consistent excitement that Charles Addams does. His 1949 cartoon of a skier unexpectedly coming upon a mound in the snow demonstrates Addams's mastery of technique. His linework and his brushwork are superb. You can almost feel the spray of the snow and the stitching on the sweater. It's an extraordinary piece. And it's funny too, highlighting Addams's delightfully macabre sense of humor.

Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, 
January 15, 1949, p. 32

The original cartoon went on the auction block yesterday at Heritage Auctions. The action in the salesroom was probably not as frenzied as it would be for one of his Addams Family drawings—or for his more famous ski cartoon—but the bidding certainly did not disappoint. A hammer price of $19,000 is more than respectable for a seventy-five year old New Yorker cartoon.
Charles Addams
Framed original art
The New Yorker, 
January 15, 1949, p. 32


An undated invoice from Graphics International, Ltd.

Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions sale of April 23, 2024


Charles Addams
Heritage Auctions item description


The drawing merited a full page in 
The New Yorker, something you really don't see there anymore. I think we can all agree that it was worth the space.
Charles Addams
The New Yorker, 
January 15, 1949, p. 32


Charles Addams
Original art
The New Yorker, January 15, 1949, p. 32

A cartoon by Charles Addams and a Profiles illustration by Lorenz [?]
https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1949-01-15/flipbook/032/

Frank Emerson Denison
Lorenz [?]
The New Yorker, January 15, 1949, p. 33



Note:  It occurs to me that some of you youngsters may not know what I mean when I write of Charles Addams's "more famous ski cartoon." Well, it's a classic from The New Yorker's issue of January 13, 1940 and you can find it in the archives here.


The obituary of previous art owner Kevin P. Connell (1941-2017) may be examined here. When the cartoon was first published, he wasn't quite eight. The death notice states he was a "Key advance man for the 1968 Presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy & organizer for George McGovern's [Senate] reelection." My guess is that Connell purchased the Addams art in the 1960s. In the 1950s he was simply too young, and by the 1970s I think the art might have cost more than $500.


Is the profile illustration signed Lorenz? Lucaz? Waz? Who is this artist?



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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Jack Markow: On the Construction Site

Construction was always a part of New York City life. A century ago, in the Roaring Twenties, this was especially true. Jack Markow's 1928 cartoon celebrates the city's ongoing reinvention of itself. Was it possible, in that permissive era, for a wiseacre and a police officer to engage in conversation right in the middle of a construction site? It seems doubtful. Whatever the case, the interaction of the two figures is wonderfully staged by the artist. The charcoal drawing was reproduced on page 29 of The Art in Cartooning (1975). The word but handwritten on the matte does not appear in the published caption.

"Pardon me, officer, [but] can you tell me where they moved Hudson Street?"
Jack Markow
Original art
The New Yorker, March 17, 1928, p. 30

"Pardon me, officer, [but] can you tell me where they moved Hudson Street?"
Jack Markow
Original art
The New Yorker, March 17, 1928, p. 30

Jack Markow's signature

Caption on matte with a superfluous but







Jack Markow
Auctions at Showplace:  New York City Estate Auction held March 3, 2024



"Pardon me, officer, can you tell me where they moved Hudson Street?"
Jack Markow
The New Yorker, March 17, 1928, p. 30

"Pardon me, officer, [but] can you tell me where they moved Hudson Street?"
Jack Markow
Original art
The New Yorker, March 17, 1928, p. 30




A cartoon by Jack Markow and an illustration by V. E.

Illustration by V. E. 
The New Yorker, March 17, 1928, p. 31


Note:  Who then is V.E? Anybody?





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Monday, April 22, 2024

May Smith's Copy of The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker

The Friends of Poughkeepsie Library is offering another copy of The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, this one signed by Michael Crawford, Danny Shanahan, and Peter Steiner. The recipient, May Smith must have said she fancied cats, as Shanahan and Steiner both drew felines on the half title. Crawford, though, was having none of it.



The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker
AbeBooks listing accessed April 21, 2024


The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker
AbeBooks bibliographic details




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Sunday, April 21, 2024

Original Book Cover Art: Don Martin Carries On

The original 1973 book cover art for Don Martin Carries On was sold on April 17 at Heritage Auctions. The illustration speaks for itself.


Don Martin
Heritage Auctions listing ended April 17, 2024

Apparently, memories of Mad magazine inspired Heritage's copy writer to produce some truly awful prose:
Don Martin
Heritage Auctions item description
"This lampshaded lunatic is attempting to Lambada, but instead starts 'Poppin' and Lockin'.'" What?


 



I also have a few eBay images of the paperback for the scholars among you:







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