Lee Lorenz: Tennis Equipment

A set of three related color illustrations by the late Lee Lorenz (1932-2022), former art editor (1973-1993) and cartoon editor (1993-1997) of The New Yorker, were sold on eBay in May. The humorous drawings are on the subject of tennis and, apparently, outlandish ancillary equipment—a sextant, a calculator, and a bazooka—to improve one's game, naturally. These look like work intended for a magazine or brochure; plausibly they could be sneaker ads for New Balance. The set was originally offered on eBay for $1,500 but sold after the price was reduced to $1,200.

Lee Lorenz's signature

Lee Lorenz
eBay listing ended May 6, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113307722279?hash=item1a61aaa227%3Ag%3AKM8AAOSwKA5bwXz7&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4NwbL6mmmLuF9Iu%2Bu6oDlTRQQ7%2Fs%2BD7V2tF1cWgYmElvN%2BMH5MgO3EeGWNc2vPVeOsGgqYs%2Fu2qlcieiBWbtMf3fxsSiWOvikZO9P0f4feXFlNGDG

jDB2znL68L2D%2BBK7YwN30TLJdIHaZo5OPk6TFEHZ0LFSLPPl8bU2LecXa4caGHdEDgr4yqvZBz0vru8WttTNXTmH6R0%2BJ%2BcP%2B3oqNQZj0IWbOWOiKHdSyBhPE4Fjpx9lMd5aCSYezqR8jujGn9zN6C%2BkQij%2FeV81RLLOV8iP8Hk57BIdElo9WGK55lE%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_ja4IajYg&nma=t

rue&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Lee Lorenz
eBay item description

Note:  Where were these tennis illustrations published? Were they from an advertisement or promotion for New Balance? Let me know and I'll add the information to this post.

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Charles Saxon: The Tennis Pro

"Mr. Gemini batted endless balls to me while he chatted with friends." Those words identify an original drawing by Charles Saxon as some sort of story illustration. A male tennis instructor conducts a lesson while being distracted by an attentive trio of female players standing on the court behind him. The original art is toned and there is a patch over the face of the harried young beginner chasing down those balls batted by the pro. The eBay seller, who was apparently close to Saxon, states that the drawing had been submitted to The New Yorker. I have been unable to ascertain any publication history. The framed illustration sold for an undisclosed best offer.

"Mr. Gemini batted endless balls to me while he chatted with friends."

Charles Saxon
eBay listing ended May 20, 2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275313821246?hash=item4019fb863e%3Ag%3As1oAAOSwv7Jh%7Ensx&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Charles Saxon
eBay item description

Charles Saxon
eBay bid history
Sold for a best offer

Note:  While it was still available, this piece was noted by Michael Maslin on Ink Spill here, as were others.

I would like to hear from anyone who knows whether this drawing was published and, if so, where. Those in possession of other original artwork by Charles Saxon are invited to share it here on the old blog.

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Ronald Searle: Tennis for the Times

Ronald Searle's mid-1980s advertising campaign for the New York Times was published in color on full pages in the Times Magazine section. Ads ran with the tag line "There's no Times like the present." This particular ad, featuring Sunday tennis, describes the newspaper as "Gripping." It usually takes awhile to digest the Sunday Times, which can seriously disrupt your set of mixed doubles...

Ronald Searle
There's no Times like the present.
Gripping
The New York Times Magazine, May 4, 1986

Ronald Searle:  Tennis for the Times
eBay Listing Accessed 5/2/2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373035822391?ul_noapp=true

Ronald Searle:  Tennis for the Times
eBay Item Description Accessed 5/2/2020

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Note:  Another wonderful page from this advertising campaign, Elevating, was published on February 2, 1987. It is collected on page 92 of Ronald Searle's America (2016) edited by Matt Jones.

An older Attempted Bloggery post here shows Searle's original watercolor art for two unpublished ads for the Times.

I eagerly solicit the submission of other ads from this still-vibrant New York Times campaign. It is my somewhat foggy recollection that each ad was run only once.

This year marks Ronald Searle's centenary. He was born on March 3, 1920.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Ronald Searle

The New York Times

Advertising

Tennis

Attempted Bloggery's Grand Slam Index

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Gahan Wilson: Of Mice and Monsters

Cartoonist Gahan Wilson has been in the thoughts of many these past days as his urgent need for expensive memory care has prompted well-wishers to pledge money for his support. Hoping to keep Wilson in our thoughts, Dick Buchanan has put his superlative scanning skills to work and imaged two works of original published art from the mid-1990s by the beloved cartoonist. One appeared in the New Yorker and the other in Playboy. The New Yorker piece requires no caption. It is, incidentally, a superb example of Wilson's use of wash.

Gahan Wilson
Original art
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995, page 64

Verso

The drawing may require no words, but the same can't be said of the editorial comment on the back of the art:

CKG.=Fact Checking?

Overlay

Gahan Wilson
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995, page 64

Now we leave the bizarre world of the commuter railway for the bizarre world of a child's bedroom. In the Playboy cartoon, Wilson achieves shading not with wash but through exquisite hatching. The technique is, if anything, even more remarkable:

"Read me the story again about the Closet Monster!"

Gahan Wilson

Original art

Published as "Read me the story again about the closet monster."

Playboy, October 1996, page 154

Verso

One could comment too on the different editorial approaches of two publications, but then it hardly seems necessary.

"Read me the story again about the closet monster."
Gahan Wilson
Playboy, October 1996, page 154

The cover:

Playboy, October 1996

Dick didn't scan the corresponding New Yorker cover, but equal time is only fair:

Edward Sorel
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995

https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1995-09-04#folio=CV1

Note:  To support Gahan Wilson's memory care, visit his Go Fund Me campaign here.

My thanks to Dick Buchanan for contributing the outstanding scans of original Gahan Wilson art and for documenting the publication history in today's post. Dick maintains the comprehensive Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files from which he contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a timely post entitled "From the Dick Buchanan Files: Some Gahan Wilson Gag Cartoons 1955 - 1964." You won't find these scans of early Gahan Wilson cartoons anywhere else.

Aside from his Gahan Wilson work, Dick has been quite busy researching cartoonist John Gallagher. Since we last checked in on him, Dick has become an authority on this gag cartoonist. Here's what he has come up with:

John Gallagher Gag Cartoons 1951 - 1970

John Gallagher Part Two: 1000 Jokes! - Gag Cartoons 1954 - 1965

And, to be complete:

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Show Business Gag Cartoons 1945 - 1962

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Caption-less, Wordless Gag Cartoons 1946 – 1963

And there you have it. In case you didn't know, Attempted Bloggery seeks other high-quality scans of original Gahan Wilson art and published rarities.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Gahan Wilson

Dick Buchanan

Mice

Monsters

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Original Playboy Cartoon Art

Edward Sorel

Attempted Bloggery's Maze of an Index

02861

"Tennis, Anyone?"—Arthur Getz "Killed" New Yorker Cover Art

"Killed" New Yorker cover art refers specifically to any cover purchased by the magazine but never published. Typically it is paid for, stored, and eventually returned to the artist unused.

A fine seasonal example by Arthur Getz is currently being exhibited at the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon, Connecticut. It takes a confident artist to place the foreground in shade. On a bright summer morning a young man sits outdoors reading on a chaise longue. He has brought with him two books, the Sunday paper, and an inviting pitcher of lemonade. He may think he has found the ideal way to enjoy a summer's day, but his friends show up with a different idea.

The cover, given the title "Tennis, Anyone?" by the artist, was purchased by the New Yorker's founding editor Harold Ross in 1950 or 1951, the year of his passing. For whatever reason, his successor William Shawn never ran it and the original illustration was returned to the artist in 1964. By this date, the car depicted was no longer a current model.

The artist describes the history of the piece in a notation on the back. Sarah Getz, Arthur's daughter, offers a personal perspective on the illustration. She writes, "Of course my dad loathed/never played/made fun of tennis, and much preferred reading peacefully in the shade. So I smile every time I look at this picture!"

Me too, Sarah, but for my own reasons. Happy summer!

Arthur Getz
"Tennis, Anyone?"
Killed New Yorker cover art, c. 1950-1951

Back of frame with the artist's notations

Note:  Thanks to Sarah Getz for providing these images.

This original killed New Yorker cover is currently on display in “The Art of Arthur Getz: City & Country” at the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon, CT, through June 30. www.hotchkisslibrary.org

A second show of original work by Arthur Getz is “Covering New York: New Yorker Magazine Covers by Arthur Getz” at the Moviehouse Studio Gallery located in the Moviehouse, Millerton, NY, through August 28.

www.themoviehouse.net

02583

Mischa Richter: Sporting Lady Liberty

Cartoonist Mischa Richter included Lady Liberty—usually accompanied by her partner Uncle Sam—as a recurring character in many of his New Yorker cartoons. Back in a 1977 cartoon, he showed her sporting side. Now, as the U.S. Open gets under way in Forest Hills, it seems a good time to revisit the original art, which was just sold on eBay.

Mischa Richter
Original art
The New Yorker, August 8, 1977, page 28

The item is marred by cracked glass in the corner of the frame.

Detail showing the paper has signs of handling

Detail

Mischa Richter
eBay Listing Ended June 4, 2017

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Signed-Mischa-Richter-NEW-YORKER-artist-ORIGINAL-drawing-Cartoonist-/361993122643?hash=item544878b353%3Ag%3ACsQAAOSwqM1YmmeB&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Mischa Richter
eBay Item Description

Mischa Richter
The New Yorker, August 8, 1977, page 28

Mischa Richter
Original art
The New Yorker, August 8, 1977, page 28

Mischa Richter
The New Yorker, August 8, 1977, page 28

Cartoons by Mischa Richter and James Stevenson
The New Yorker, August 8, 1977, pages 28-29

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1977-08-08#folio=028

Note:  Attempted Bloggery seeks scans and photographs of original cartoon art by Mischa Richter and other New Yorker artists. If you are in possession of such artwork, the ball is in your court.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Mischa Richter

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Tennis

Attempted Bloggery's Ace of an Index

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