The Hirschfeld Century: Portrait of an Artist and His Age

by Al Hirschfeld, David Leopold (Editor)

I am down to a pencil, a pen, and a bottle of ink. I hope one day to eliminate the pencil. Al Hirschfeld redefined caricature and exemplified Broadway and Hollywood, enchanting generations with his mastery of line. His art appeared in every major publication during nine decades of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as on numerous book, record, and program covers; film posters and publicity art; and on fifteen U.S. postage stamps. Now, The Hirschfeld Century brings together for the first time the artist’s extraordinary eighty-two-year career, revealed in more than 360 of his iconic black-and-white and color drawings, illustrations, and photographs—his influences, his techniques, his evolution from his earliest works to his last drawings, and with a biographical text by David Leopold, Hirschfeld authority, who, as archivist to the artist, worked side by side with him and has spent more than twenty years documenting the artist’s extraordinary output. Here is Hirschfeld at age seventeen, working in the publicity department at Goldwyn Pictures (1920–1921), rising from errand boy to artist; his year at Universal (1921); and, beginning at age eighteen, art director at Selznick Pictures, headed by Louis Selznick (father of David O.) in New York. We see Hirschfeld, at age twenty-one, being influenced by the stylized drawings of Miguel Covarrubias, newly arrived from Mexico (they shared a studio on West Forty-Second Street), whose caricatures appeared in many of the most influential magazines, among them Vanity Fair. We see, as well, how Hirschfeld’s friendship with John Held Jr. (Held’s drawings literally created the look of the Jazz Age) was just as central as Covarrubias to the young artist’s development, how Held’s thin line affected Hirschfeld’s early caricatures. Here is the Hirschfeld century, from his early doodles on the backs of theater programs in 1926 that led to his work for the drama editors of the New York Herald Tribune (an association that lasted twenty years) to his receiving a telegram from The New York Times, in 1928, asking for a two-column drawing of Sir Harry Lauder, a Scottish vaudeville singing sensation making one of his (many) farewell tours, an assignment that began a collaboration with the Times that lasted seventy-five years, to Hirschfeld’s theater caricatures, by age twenty-five, a drawing appearing every week in one of four different New York newspapers. Here, through Hirschfeld’s pen, are Ethel Merman, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Katharine Hepburn, the Marx Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Elia Kazan, Mick Jagger, Ella Fitzgerald, Laurence Olivier, Martha Graham, et al. . . . Among the productions Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Rent, Guys and Dolls, The Wizard of Oz (Hirschfeld drew five posters for the original release), Gone with the Wind, The Sopranos, and more. Here as well are his brilliant portraits of writers, politicians, and the like, among them Ernest Hemingway (a pal from 1920s Paris), Tom Wolfe, Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. Sumptuous and ambitious, a book that gives us, through images and text, a Hirschfeld portrait of an artist and his age. 

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Theatre, Biography Memoir

635 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2015

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

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lord, this book is awesome. The man worked for almost 80 years, drawing and designing; you've seen at least one of his works, and he has created some of the most iconic caricatures of theater and film. This is a great coffee table book, and also contains a great deal of biographical information. The characters he met and called friends are pretty hilarious, and the insight as to his process was illuminating. The challenge to get across the sense of a man who drew around 80,000 works during his lifetime is a heady one, but I think that the work chosen to be in this book did he job admirably.

[Marie Fouhey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains hundreds of Hirschfeld drawings done from the 1920s through the 1990s. The drawings are sorted by decades which allows you to watch his style develop over time. He said what you took out was more important than what you put in, and its fascinating to watch his drawings simplify and become more wonderful over time.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book: not an instructional manual, but a vivid history of one man’s visual documentation of Hollywood and Broadway shows and actors. I am familiar with most of the actors from the decades Hirschfeld worked, so I thoroughly enjoyed looking at his caricatures.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid in Ohio, I still managed to grow up with Al Hirschfeld's illustrations of Broadway shows and actors as a part of my life, since my parents gave me the Best Plays books for Christmas every year from 1965 until the late 80s, and each volume had a generous selection of caricatures he had done over the season. I owned a book of his work but I lost it, probably in one of my many moves, so this recent volume is a nice replacement. It includes a critical and biographical text which is nice to have but which could have used more beefing-up especially in terms of Hirschfeld's life. I enjoyed the book and will certainly peruse its illustrations again and again. I dock it one star for two reasons: 1) the author occasionally discusses an illustration that he does not provide in the book, and 2) more of Hirschfeld's drawings, please!!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great survey of Hirschfeld's work, with excellent annotations under most of the pieces. Unfortunately, it is let down a little by the biographical text which runs through the book. It does a minimal job of giving context to Hirscheld's life, which is appreciated in the beginning, but as the book goes on it starts to conflict more and more with the art, making it difficult to read, retelling stories that are told in captions, and, most frustratingly, talking about pieces which then aren't reproduced.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Much. Fun.

Having grown up looking forward to each week’s Hirschfeld drawing on the front page of the Sunday NYT Arts and Leisure section, and having loved his work my whole life, I had a blast reading this book. I learned some things about Al, saw some drawings I had not seen before, and counted Ninas out the wazoo. Very enjoyable read.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

via NYPL - Five stars for all the amazing artwork, but only two stars for the lackluster biographical details.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light look at the times and technique of the great Broadway (and occasionally, Hollywood) caricaturist Al Hirschfeld - fortunately, it's generously illustrated, elevating it to the status of keepsake. Hirschfeld's oeuvre constitutes a mini-history of 20th-century showbusiness, rendered in devotionally fluid lines. The wonder of his work, aside from its Japanese-influenced minimalism, is his ability to exaggerate without a trace of the editorial, save for an abiding reverence for the dynamism of theatre and the irrepressible souls who practice it.

[Tim Shortt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sort of book I'd usually just flip through looking at the pictures and randomly reading captions. Decided to read the full text this time. There's probably a reason why I usually take the alternative approach. Mostly the text in a book like this fills the space between the pictures. I watched The Line King on Youtube while reading this - there's a lot of overlap in the editorial choices. But it's a worthwhile book for the drawings themselves, and for the subject, someone who worked for so long at the top of his game. He had an amazing career.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

No other creator in any medium has had quite the seat that Al Hirschfeld had for more than 75 years. His unheard of access and inimitable eye offer such a unique perch from which to view the 20th (and part of the 21st) century, especially entertainment and politics. I wasn't aware of his less public works, such as his experiments with non-linear techniques (such as pointillism and watercolor). So much talent and humor crammed into a single body!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Hirschfeld's work, so this coffee table book was something I was sure to enjoy before even opening the cover!

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious account on one of our modern masters. Although Hirschfeld's characterizations are marvelous, it's plain to see that he's also an excellent artist, too.

[John Uzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting narrative and great art.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this look at Hirschfeld’s life & art. Just looking through the pictures was like taking a tour of entertainment in the 20th century.