Stephen Sondheim original pen/ink drawing and signed lithograph by Al Hirschfeld

Description: This is a combined sale of one signed Al Hirschfeld lithograph of Stephen Sondheim (1977) at age 47 and one original pen and ink drawing of the same image of Sondheim (1999) at age 69. As to the first piece, I acquired the litho of Sondheim at age 47 directly from Margo Feidan galleries in NYC. When Sondheim lectured at Michigan State University in 1997, he graciously signed the image above Hirschfeld’s signature, and remarked that he regretted having the cigarette in the image, as he had quit smoking after the image came out. My ongoing fascination with both Sondheim and Hirschfeld sparked the idea of commissioning Hirschfeld, through his Connecticut publisher, George Goodstadt, to update the image in 1999 without the cigarette. Hirschfeld asked that I send current photos of Sondheim, which I sent. I received back the original pen/ink drawing that is the second image in this listing. Beyond being a lifelong Sondheim enthusiast and collector of recordings and other items, I’m also very familiar with Hirschfeld’s work and have his original pen/ink drawing of “Passion,” and lithographs of “Into the Woods,” “Passion,” and “Sunset Boulevard.” To my knowledge, unless corrected by Feidan staff or other Hirschfeld collectors, this is the only instance where Hirschfeld drew exactly the same image, only decades apart. There are numerous instances of his drawing the same person, e.g., Chaplin, Marx Brothers, Sinatra, etc., but all are in different postures, costumes, and settings. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about these two items is how clearly they demonstrate Hirschfeld’s development over time in reducing the number of lines and dark spaces to convey the essence of a subject. Note the reduced number of lines and dark spaces in the later image, whether in the hair, notes on the page, delineations of the torso, or piano keys, that sharpen the focus of the work. This was a lifelong quest of his, as underscored in the 1996 documentary, “The Line King,” which I highly recommend for anyone interested in Hirschfeld. Also of interest is that in neither piece did Hirschfeld disclose the number of “Nina’s” in the drawing, which he characteristically did by placing a numeral adjacent to his signature. [I won’t disclose the number here either, but they appear in both images.] I’ve wondered if this was intentional—perhaps an homage to Sondheim’s well-known interest in creating puzzles. Given the unique opportunity the two images provide to demonstrate Hirschfeld’s having achieved his goal of reducing an image to its most essential components, I have a strong interest in keeping these two images together, thus will not entertain requests to separate them. Sight size on the original: 21.125 x 17.25. On the litho: 15.25 x 20.25. Both are conservation mounted with a wide black matting framed in identical burl frames with a repeated marquetry pattern on the inner segment. Both have been maintained in low or no-light smoke-free air-conditioned rooms. I’m more than happy to respond to any questions about these works.

Price: 29500 USD

Location: Dimondale, Michigan

End Time: 2023-09-04T00:07:11.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD