Volume 16–1.pdf

8
Fifty years ago
New York City had more major
morning, afternoon and evening
newspapers than could fit on a
newsstand at any one time. Now
there are only three. Fifty years ago
New York City also had more theatrical
caricaturists than these many
newspapers could absorb. Now
there is only one; and he is the master.
Since 1925, Al Hirschfeld has
been documenting, in pen and ink,
America's plays and players for
the drama section of the New York
Times. At 85 years of age, this
redoubtable artist, with his mane of
flowing white hair and long, pointed
beard can still be found at almost
any Broadway premiere in a first row
aisle seat making feverish sketches
in the dark. He is the last of the
Broadway caricaturists, and also
the most legendary. The odds are
that in the foreseeable future no
one will be able to fill his well-worn
shoes.
"I never wanted to be a cartoonist:'
said Hirschfeld during a
recent interview at his New York
studio. "Actually, I started out as a
sculptor and then a painter. I don't
consider myself a cartoonist either.
You see, a cartoon is something
that has a literal idea —a point of
view. I've done them, but as the
years went on I just worried about
line and form and space:' For
Hirschfeld the distinction between
the cartoon and caricature is profound.
"A cartoon doesn't depend
on the quality of the drawing so
much as on the idea. If it's a good
idea, anyone can do it. But a caricature
has another quality. The word
'abstract: I suppose, is the only one
I can use. Are Picasso, Lautrec
and Hokusai caricaturists, graphic
artists or painters? They were all
caricaturists, in my view."
After a long stay in Paris
during the early '20s, Hirschfeld
began his career as a journalist,
contributing political cartoons to
left-wing periodicals, including the
New Masses. At one time he was
even asked to replace Caesar, the
last political cartoonist for the
by
Steven
Helier
Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli, "Cabaret," 1972.
Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, "South Pacific," 1949.
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