Art & Architecture Holiday 2022 - 70 - Extraordinary Self-Portrait Caricature Drawn And Inscribed By Katharine Hepburn To The Associate Director Of The American Shakespeare Theatre, Framed With A Boldly Signed Typed Presentation Letter By Hepburn To The Man Who Purchased The Caricature 67. HEPBURN, Katharine. Self-portrait inscribed. FRAMEDWITH: Typed letter signed. FRAMEDWITH: Publicityphoto. Stratford, Connecticut, Likely Old Saybrook, Connecticut, no place, 1957, 1970, circa 1990. Self-portrait; single sheet of white letterhead with original typed envelope; glossy color publicity photograph; matted and framed together, entire piece measures 32-1/2 by 16-1/4 inches. $13,500. Most exceptional caricature-style self-portrait skillfully accomplished by Katharine Hepburn and inscribed “Landau” in the margin to the associate director of the American Shakespeare Theatre and additionally inscribed by Hepburn: “Jack fromHis Portia”; framed with a boldly signed typed presentation letter from Hepburn to the purchaser—presumably at a charity auction—of the caricature and a publicity photograph from Hepburn’s later years. Accomplished in pencil, ink, watercolor, and crayon on textured paper, this caricature-style self-portrait by Katharine Hepburn depicts her in the role of Portia from “The Merchant of Venice.” Jack Landau, the inscribee, served as associate director of the independent theater company, American Shakespeare Theatre (AST), in Stratford, Connecticut from 1956 to 1959. Hepburn was one of the first major stars to perform at the AST following its 1955 opening. Few Hepburn caricatures exist and those were dedicated to people with whom Hepburn worked in film or theater. These starkly honest and unflattering caricatures often depict Hepburn with angular, bony features, freckles, and off-putting facial expressions, as in the present example. The accompanying typed letter on Hepburn’s personal letterhead addressed to Earl Fagerstrom Esq. of Hartford, Connecticut appears to suggest that Fagerstrom bought the portrait in a charity auction, hence Hepburn’s hope that he overpaid. Her attempt to guess the date of her work with Jack Landau is evidently incorrect as her performance as Portia took place in 1957. The letter is accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Shallow chip to top edge of frame. Photo fine, light foxing to caricature, and letter fine with only slight soiling to envelope. Near-fine condition.
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