An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Hirschfeld, Al, 1903-2003
Title:
Al Hirschfeld Collection
Dates:
1951-1982, undated
Extent:
23 items in 23 oversize folders (osf) (0.54 linear feet)
Abstract:
The Al Hirschfeld Collection contains
twenty-one drawings and two prints of plays, films, and theater personalities.
Among
the many performers shown are Carol Burnett, Alec Guinness, and Margaret Leighton.
Many of the drawings appeared in The New York Times;
others were used by film and television studios for publicity purposes. Five
drawings were published in the 1982 Limited Editions Club edition of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Call Number:
Performing Arts Collection PA-00114
Call Number:
Performing Arts Collection
PA-00114
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to
the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential
information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and
regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information
pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without
the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of
action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning
an
individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive
to a
reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at
Austin
assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use:
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of
the
copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information
please see the Ransom Center's Open Access and Use Policies.
Administrative Information
Acquisition:
Purchases, 1967 (R3487), 2009 (10-06-002-P); 2 drawings transferred from Art
Collection, 1 drawing transferred from Crain Collection
Processed by:
Esther L. Mes, 2001; Helen Adair, 2006, 2010; Daniela Lozano, 2017
The graphic artist and caricaturist Al Hirschfeld was born in St. Louis, Missouri,
in
1903. Hirschfeld moved to New York City at the age of twelve, and before he was
twenty he was creating art for motion picture companies. With the help of his
friend
Miguel Covarrubias, he perfected a unique drawing style marked by long fluid pen
strokes. He studied at the Art Students League (circa 1918), worked for David
Selznick (1921) and Warner Brothers (1921-1924), and established a studio in Paris
(1924-1925). He became the theater correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune in Moscow (1927-1928), and a freelance
artist for The New York Times beginning in 1929.
Hirschfeld became famous for his stylized and perceptive caricatures of theater
and
public personalities. After the birth of his daughter, Nina, in 1945, Hirschfeld
concealed her name in almost all of his drawings. A documentary about his life,
The Line King: Al Hirschfeld, was released in
1996. Hirschfeld died in 2003 at the age of 99.
Scope and Contents
The Al Hirschfeld Collection, 1951-1982, undated, contains sixteen drawings and two
prints of plays, films, and theater personalities. Many of the drawings appeared
in
The New York Times; others were used by film and
television studios for publicity purposes. Productions represented include The Alamo (film), The Night of
the Iguana (stage and film versions), The Rose
Tattoo, St. Joan, Waiting for Godot, and West Side Story.
Among the many performers shown are Carol Burnett (caricatured as Blanche du Bois
in
A Streetcar Named Desire), Alec Guinness, and
Margaret Leighton. This inventory includes an Index of Subjects which lists each
of
the individuals depicted in this collection.
A 2006 addition to the Al Hirschfeld Collection contains five drawings published in
the 1982 Limited Editions Club edition of A Streetcar Named
Desire. This addition is not represented in the Index of Subjects.
