Monday, May 11, 2009

Al Hirschfeld

Caricaturists fascinate me. They can throw together what appear to be a few random lines and suddenly I'm looking at Janet Jackson. Al Hirschfeld was a master of the form. He died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 99 1/2, having provided New York newspapers with elegant art for over 70 years. In fact, his work was so omnipresent that a New York Times editor once complained he couldn't tell what paper he was reading, since so many featured Hirschfeld drawings. Then there was the fun of looking for the name of his daughter, Nina, which he hid in most of his drawings. Now guess who the performer at left is. Hint: she hasn't changed her hairstyle in 40 years.

Source: Biography Resource Center
Graphic Source: Library of Congress

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