Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #107365
Cost: $3,800.00

Harlem As Seen By Hirschfeld

William Saroyan

“VERY REAL PEOPLE MEETING REALITY HEAD-ON AND THEN STUBBORNLY TRANSCENDING IT”: 24 ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPHS BY HIRSCHFELD, LIMITED FIRST EDITION, 1941

HIRSCHFELD, Al and SAROYAN, William. Harlem As Seen by Hirschfeld. New York: Hyperion, (1941). Tall folio (14 by 18 inches), original hand-colored linen boards . $3800.

Limited first edition, number 317 of 1000 copies, with 24 original mounted lithographs, some in color, on hand-made paper.

Al Hirschfeld's devotion to line comes from a fundamental aesthetic—respect for absolute simplicity: "When I'm rushed I do a complicated drawing. When I have the time, I do a simple one." Harlem exemplifies his single-minded commitment to the spirited linear style for which he became famous. "No artist ever captured Harlem's dangerous highs and bluesy lows like this Master of the Performing Curve." Hirschfeld's line caricatures of Broadway personalities captured the vividness of American theater in the New York Times for almost 75 years. With 19 lithographs of Harlem, and five lithographs of Balinese dancers. Accompanying text by William Saroyan. Original boards hand-colored by the Creative Printmakers Group. Without original slipcase. Kherdian 25. Early gift inscription.

Plates and text fine, minor expert repairs to text block and spine, some foxing to original boards. A very good copy.

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