Humorous and warm caricatures like these, in which Hirschfeld observed and chronicled New York’s entertainment scene, are what propelled him to become the Broadway’s most beloved graphic artist.

Own a piece of theater and art history with these whimsical and wonderful works! 

 
From the Private Collection of Broadway Star Paul Hartman.

Title: “A Demonstration of Fireless Cooking”
Artist: Al Hirschfeld.
Date of Creation: Circa 1930s.
Type of Work: One-of-a-kind.
Materials & Techniques: Pen and ink on board.
Dimensions: 11” high by 18.75” wide (image) and 14.75” by 21.5” (board).
 
Inscriptions and Markings: Hand-signed by the artist, “Hirschfeld,” in block print within the right-hand side of each composition. A hand-written description in pen by the artist, beneath the composition: Grace Hartman (absent-minded professor of a woman’s club) introduces Paul Hartman (eminent culinary authority) in a demonstration of fireless cooking. Above the image, hand-written in pencil within a stamped template entitled Thursday Early Run, are dimensions (12 1/8 by 6 3/8) a description (Hirschfeld drawing) and department designation (Drama) which applies to the image’s representation within The New York Time’s Drama Section. 
 
Description and History: From the private collection of late Broadway and television star, Paul Hartman. “A Demonstration of Fireless Cooking” features Mr. Hartman, along with his first wife and vaudeville partner, Grace, performing a comedic cooking sketch.
 
Condition: There are no tears or punctures within the board and the composition is intact; however, there is yellowing throughout and minor foxing within the left side of the composition. There is also residual glue residue, left over from the work’s original matting, which has stained the border brown.

Title: “Show Boat”
Artist: Al Hirschfeld.
Date of Creation: 1956.
Type of Work: One-of-a-kind.
Materials & Techniques: Pen and ink on board.
Dimensions: 12.5” high by 25” wide (image) and 15.75” by 30” (board). 

Inscriptions and Markings: Hand-signed by the artist, “Hirschfeld,” in block print within the right-hand side of each composition. It also features the Thursday Early Run stamp just below Hirschfeld’s signature. Above the stamp appears to be a secondary signature by the artist. Within the composition, the artist has incorporated the word “Nina,” his daughter’s name, within the feathered costume of the tribal dancer in the right foreground. The appearance of Nina’s name, usually hidden, became a popular trait of Hirschfeld’s work following her birth in 1945. (See the artist’s biography for a full explanation of the practice.)
 
Description and History: From the private collection of late Broadway and television star, Paul Hartman. “Show Boat” documents the award-winning 1956 Broadway musical in which Mr. Hartman, shown on the left, portrayed “Cap’n Andy.”
 
Condition: There is some light discoloration along the edge and within the composition’s margin, but the composition and board are otherwise crisp, white and blemish-free. 
 

Title: “You Never Know”
Artist: Al Hirschfeld.
Date of Creation: 1938.
Type of Work: One-of-a-kind.
Materials & Techniques: Pen, ink and collage on board.
Dimensions: 8.5” high by 24” wide (image) and 12.5” by 27.75” (board).

Inscriptions and Markings: Hand-signed by the artist, “Hirschfeld,” in block print within the right-hand side of each composition. It has the following description, hand-written in pen by the artist, beneath the composition: Toby Wing, Rex O’Malley, Lupe Velez, Libby Holman, Clifton Webb and the ‘Mad’ Hartmans in “You Never Know,” opens September 20, Winter’s Garden. “Hirschfeld drawing” is written in pencil beneath the description. “Make-Over” is written in pencil in large letters within the upper margin.
 
Description and History: From the private collection of late Broadway and television star, Paul Hartman. “You Never Know” showcases the cast of the 1938 Cole Porter musical, as well as a collage of sheet music from the show.
 
Condition: The board and composition have yellowed; however, the yellowing is largely uniform apart from the sheet music collage along the composition’s bottom edge. The board itself is intact, and is free from tears, punctures or other significant blemishes. Residual glue, left over from the work’s original matting, has stained the composition’s border brown.
 
Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003):
 
Artist Al Hirschfeld was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1924, he traveled to Paris and London, where he studied painting, drawing and sculpture, and came away with a love for simple, fluid compositions. He returned to New York in 1926 and, while watching Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps perform on Broadway in Guitry's musical play Mozart, he scribbled a likeness of Guitry on his playbill. His companion, press agent Richard Maney, forwarded it to the New York Herald Tribune, where it was published on December 26, 1926, becoming Hirschfeld's first published theatre drawing.
 
Hirschfeld made his The New York Times debut in 1928, with a drawing of Scottish comedian Harry Lauder’s farewell performance. A hand-shake agreement followed (one that was not put to paper until 1990) and, from that point on, Hirschfeld’s work graced the front page of the paper's Drama Section each Sunday as an accompaniment to reviews. Having seen virtually every play or musical that opened on Broadway between 1928 and 2003, Hirschfeld became a regular figure at rehearsals and at first nights, and developed a method of sketching and making shorthand notations from his aisle seat in the dark.
 
In 1945 his daughter, Nina, was born. To commemorate the occasion Hirschfeld incorporated her name into one of his works. What started as a family joke quickly became a national pastime, as the seeking of hidden "Nina"s became a regular Sunday parlor game for the artist's fans…and created a howl of protest when he tried to abandon the practice.
Hirschfeld died of natural causes at his New York home on January 20, 2003, just five months before his 100th birthday. His work is on permanent display within the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
　
“A Demonstration of Fireless Cooking” by Al Hirschfeld: $7,500 Sold
“Show Boat” by Al Hirschfeld: $16,500 Sold
“You Never Know” by Al Hirschfeld: $11,500 Sold