New York-artwork is at Swann Galleries Thursday, June 24. The sale will feature original works by luminaries such as Al Hirschfeld, Edward Gorey and Jo Mielziner, as well as covers for the new yorkerSunday comics, book illustrations and more
Charles Schulz leads the sale with two 1971 four-panel originals Peanuts comic strips that follow Lucy as she tries to get ready for the Christmas skating pageant ($15,000-25,000 each). Additional comics and cartoons include a series by Pat Sullivan Felix the cat Sunday comedies by Otto Messmer, who worked for Pat Sullivan Studios ($5,000-7,000 and $3,000-5,000); a three panel 1973 Hagar the Horrible Dik Browne strip ($600-900); Norman Mingo with studies for the covers of the 1970s issues of mad magazine ($1,200-1,800 each); cartoons for Playboy, the wall street journaland more.
Al Hirschfeld cartoons will include Damon Runiona pen and ink drawing from circa 1980 of the American short story writer whose tales were the basis of the 1950 musical guys and dolls ($3,000-4,000); and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in “Private Lives” a 1983 illustration of the Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s play, published in The New York Times ($4,000-6,000).
Swann’s illustration sales often include a robust selection of costumes and sets; the theater will feature Adrianne Lobel with 26 original stage designs for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical My one and only, 1983 ($6,000-9,000); and Jo Mielziner with two proposed stage designs: the first for a direction by Tennessee Williams Real Pathcirca 1950 ($600-900), and the second for a staging of Gatsby the magnificent ($600-900).
Favorite of the house Edouard Gorey comes with a series of six original works. Highlight function Dogear Wryde Postcard Interpretation Series, 1979, a group of 11 pen and ink illustrations for the postcard series ($7,000-10,000); three distinct designs used in the various stage productions of Amphigorea, circa 1992–2002 ($6,000–9,000); and the 1979 postcard that Gorey designed for the purpose of responding to fan mail, which reads, “You have written to me in vain, for I never read my mail” ($4,000-6,000 ).
Children’s illustrations will include a series of works by Arnold Lobel: a 1976 pen and ink drawing for the story The surprise ($4,000-6,000) and two illustrations from 1981 for The frog and toad coloring book ($3,000-4,000 each). Also available is Chris van Allsburg with a 1987 conté crayon on board for The Z has been zapped, The J was pretty Jittery ($6,000-9,000); the full cover design created for John Lane’s reissue of The Sixpence Song Picture Book from the 1870s George Routledge Picture Books series by Walter Crane ($4,000-6,000); CF Payne with Micawber – Imitating Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portraitacrylic, watercolor and colored pencil, 2002, published in micawber by John Lithgow ($800-1,200); as well as works by William Pène du Bois, Lynn Munsinger, Tomi Ungerer, Ludwig Bemelmans, Tomie de Paola, etc.
Additional highlights include book and magazine illustrations with Haddon Sundblom’s 1942 illustration for the story Everything a girl needs by Gladys Taber, published in The Ladies’ Home Journal ($8,000-10,000); Watercolour, gouache and ink on two panels by Brian Froud for Froud’s Country, 1977 ($6,000-9,000); as well as a series of science fiction images by Don Brautigam.
The sale will conclude with the popular New Yorker section and will feature covers designed by Constantin Alajalov ($4,000-6,000), Arthur Getz ($3,000-4,000), Lee Lorenz ($2,500-3,500) and a proposed design by Rea Irvin (700-1 $000). Cartoons include Charles Addams with I imagine it’s the University of Southern Californiapublished in 1937 ($6,000-9,000), as well as Roz Chast, Lorenz, Frank Modell among others.
A limited preview (by appointment only) will be available until June 23, to be scheduled directly with a specialist in advance and in accordance with strict safety guidelines. Swann Galleries staff will prepare condition reports and provide additional photographs of equipment upon request. Advance bidding will be available through the Auction Specialist or on the Swann site, and telephone bidding will be available. The live online auction platforms will be the Swann Galleries app, Invaluable and Live Auctioneers. The full catalog and auction information is available at www.swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries app.