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Curators' Picks: August 5 Classic American Illustration Art celebrating the Art of Everett Raymond Kinstler Showcase Auction
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Sarahjane's Picks
Sarahjane Blum | Director of Illustration Art
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Tom Wolfe began wearing custom three-piece white suits early in his career as journalist and novelist to distinguish himself against the aggressively casual style that defined the late 60s newsrooms. With his trademark wit, he described his look as "neo-pretentious." It’s come to be seen as one of the most brilliant personal branding efforts of any American author, and no one captured its essence better than Everett Raymond Kinstler. The artist painted two highly recognizable portraits of Wolfe, including the final portrait from this sketch, which became a signature image from Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities era.
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Edward Gorey had a unique ability to find the strangeness in ordinary moments, and to make strangeness feel like the essence of humanity. This piece, which was one of the several he created to celebrate the Christmas season, sits directly in that spot—at once a simple winter scene with a man bundled up on his way to a party, and at the same time, tinged with oddness in the nonchalant balance of the presents on his arm, and the thick fur coat—not as long as Gorey’s trademark racoon coats, but with just enough of a suggestion of one to make the Christmas greeting implied in the scene feel personal.
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Meagen's Picks
Meagen McMillan | Senior Consignment Director, Illustration Art
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Norman Bridwell’s Clifford the Big Red Dog delighted generations of children with its gentle lessons about friendship, loyalty, acceptance, and kindness. Since his 1963 debut, Clifford has become an enduring icon of children’s literature, inspiring a beloved series of books, television programs, and films. I recall the first time I read these books and was delighted by the concept of an overly large dog, which most likely explains my choices in pets. Clifford artwork rarely appears on the market, and it’s a treat to offer this one.
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Created in 1980 as a promotional poster for Manhattan Beach, California, this charming work comes from celebrated movie-poster artist Drew Struzan, whose instantly recognizable imagery helped define the look of Hollywood blockbusters for generations. Struzan captures a boy and his dog fishing from the edge of the lively pier. According to the consignor, the boy in the image is Struzan’s son, Christian Struzan. The consignor of this work accompanied the artist to take images from a boat on the water of this pier to capture the moment and feel of Manhattan Beach. With its sun-soaked coastal charm, Manhattan Beach later became a memorable filming location for Against All Odds (1984), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996), and
Starsky & Hutch (2004).
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Ezriel's Picks
Ezriel Wilson | Cataloguer, Illustration Art
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This pen and ink illustration for Fortunino Matania’s Old Tales ReTold in this auction is an intriguing work brimming with historical "tea." In the work, Matania depicts David Rizzo, Italian musician and courtier, who became the private secretary and close confidant of Mary, Queen of Scots. After the great war, Matania began writing and illustrating a series of historical short fiction for the British woman’s magazine Britannia and Eve
. A little historical soap opera within the pages these were dramatic retellings of betrayals, corruption, death, marriage and star crossed lovers usually featuring characters from ancient history. I found it very interesting that the artist was a large contributor to the magazine for about 19 years— That’s a lot of history to spill.
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I am a huge fan of the Surrealist movement, so I was ecstatic when this 1991 advertisement for Grand Marnier French liqueur by Spanish surrealist Gervasio Gallardo came across my desk. Gallardo and one other artist completed a series of works for these advertisements with the focal point being the familiar liqueur bottle in each. In the present work Gallardo likely wanted the viewer to understand that Grand Manier was more than a drink for one, but to enjoy as a pair or during a grand party. My favorite detail in this work has to be the way Gallardo opens the space with not a window but a small surrealist painting in the background featuring a pair of curtains camouflaged in sky. Gallardo’s works feel reminiscent of his covers for the Ballantine Adult Fantasy collection
or like something straight out of the pages of the Bantam publication The Fantastic World of Gervasio Gallardo. One hundred years later, Surrealism continues to captivate audiences everywhere—add this captivating work to your collection today.
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Meagen McMillan
Senior Consignment Director,
Illustration Art
MeagenM@HA.com
(214) 409-1546
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Ezriel Wilson
Cataloguer,
Illustration Art
EzrielW@HA.com
(214) 409-1112
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