The Westport Historical Society Presents…..Sale of Original New Yorker Art

Readers of the New Yorker will have a chance to own a
piece of the magazine’s history at the sale of original New Yorker cover art
and cartoons Friday, April 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the WHS. The artworks belong
to a local couple and their sale complements the Society’s current exhibit of
New Yorker cover art by Westport-Weston area residents. That exhibit, titled
“Cover Story: The New Yorker in Westport,”
runs through July 5th in the Society’s Sheffer Gallery.

“This is a wonderful addition to the current exhibit
and continues to celebrate artists who graced New Yorker covers with their
talent,” said Susan Gold, Executive Director of the Historical Society.
Speaking of the local couple, who wished to remain anonymous, Gold said, “We
are grateful to them for thinking of us.” A portion of the proceeds from the
sale will help support future Society exhibits, she added. 

The sale art includes three covers by the late
Charles E. Martin and five cartoons by various artists, all from the late 1970s
and early 80s. It was collected by a New
York City equities manager who was a devoted reader of
the New Yorker. When he died 14 years ago, his son inherited the collection.

“The artworks capture a feel for New York of the 70s,” said the collector’s
son. He added that his father, a Yale graduate with a self-deprecating sense of
humor, especially enjoyed the way several of the cartoons “poked fun at the
affluent.”

In a note to the
Historical Society, the collector’s daughter-in-law wrote: “The artwork for the
three covers in the collection represent areas of the city that my
father-in-law adored. The Fifth
Avenue cover is particularly meaningful as he
lived on Fifth Avenue
directly across the street from this sidewalk scene with The Metropolitan
Museum in the background.  What’s
interesting to note is that in the original, the artist painted people sitting
on the benches. In the published cover, the people sitting on the benches were
removed.” The other covers show Belvedere
Castle in Central Park and rowboats
stacked at the Boat House, also in Central Park.

Martin, who died in 1995, created
187 published New Yorker covers from 1938-1986, plus some that were submitted
but not used. The biography on the artist’s website says: “Charlie loved
New York. In
good weather he would walk from East 88th Street to his studio on 53rd Street,
and spent countless hours wandering the streets with a sketchbook, jotting down
ideas, capturing scenes and places, people and events that would otherwise be
lost.”

One of the five cartoons is by Peter Arno, who also
contributed illustrations and covers to the New Yorker from its founding in
1925 until his death in 1968. It shows a well-dressed older gentleman with a
buxom younger woman on his arm. They are walking on a city sidewalk when they
encounter an older woman who knows the man. “Why, George Carter, what brings
you to town?” she asks.

There is no charge to attend but reservations are
required. To reserve, please call 203-222-1424.