Hirschfeld's Harlem: Manhattan's Legendary Artist Illustrates This Legendary City Within a City

by Al Hirschfeld

Decades before the PBS documentaries, before Bill Clinton, Al Hirschfeld went to Harlem. No artist ever captured Harlem's dangerous highs and bluesy lows like this Master of the Performing Curve. Hirschfeld began his artistic Harlem odyssey six decades ago, charting that legendary New York neighborhood's special rhythms and moods in splashy feverish hues. Hirschfeld's Harlem opens onto a special portfolio of these full-color works, a pictorial essay of the Swing Era. Wynton Marsalis, Quincy Jones, Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte, among a dozen other Harlem artists and critics, supply accompanying commentary, reminiscences and analysis – each voice focusing on one portrait.

Then it's back to Hirschfeld in his signature black and white takes on forty Harlem artists and public Gregory Hines, Duke Ellington, James Earl Jones, Ethel Waters and dozens more – all have been caught in the creative act by one of our greatest artists. Each drawing is accompanied by a thumbnail narrative by Hirschfeld about the most famous inhabitants and transients of these fabled streets. Hirschfeld's Harlem opens a picture window into nearly a century of Black American artistry and life.

Genres: Art, Jazz, History

128 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Al Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist renowned for his elegant black-and-white portraits of celebrities, Broadway stars, and cultural icons, whose distinctive style, executed in pure line with a crow quill, became instantly recognizable and influential across generations of artists and illustrators. Born in St. Louis to German and Russian Jewish parents, Hirschfeld trained at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design, later studying in Paris and London, and began his career with commissions for the New York Herald Tribune before moving to The New York Times. Over an eight-decade career, he chronicled virtually every major figure in entertainment, from Broadway actors and film stars to jazz legends, rock musicians, and political personalities, while also contributing illustrations to magazines including TV Guide, Life, The New Yorker, Collier’s, and Rolling Stone, and designing original movie posters for films such as The Wizard of Oz and Charlie Chaplin features. Hirschfeld became famous for hiding his daughter Nina’s name in his drawings, a whimsical tradition that captured public imagination and became a beloved signature of his work. He was married to Dolly Haas, with whom he had Nina, and later to theatre historian Louise Kerz. Hirschfeld’s contributions were widely recognized with lifetime achievement Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and the renaming of the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway as the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. His work is preserved in permanent collections at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Harvard University, and the New York Public Library, ensuring that his legacy as the preeminent chronicler of twentieth-century American culture endures.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked out all of the Hirschfeld books, four, from the library recently and this was my favorite. Hirschfeld On Line was the runner up. Both were great. Hirschfeld's New York or Hirschfeld's Hollywood, I can't recommend these if you are going to read one of the larger books. They are teasers.

The Speakeasies of 1932, which I read awhile ago, also comes highly recommended.

[Stef Garvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hirschfeld is a master of capturing emotion and personality with line. This book provides greater insight into the artist, and the subjects of his Harlem illustrations.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good illustrations.