Joseph Francis Kernan’s “Dog Bath” led the sale, going out at $52,500. The cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post’s January 13, 1934, issue was an oil on canvas, 26 by 22¼ inches and signed “J.F. Kernan” lower right.
Review by W.A. Demers
NEW YORK CITY — Swann Auction Galleries’ December 12 illustration art auction offered an array of iconic works that ranged from the world of national magazines to books, animation and more. The sale totaled $277,000; there were 15 new buyers. Highlights included Saturday Evening Post covers by illustrators Joseph Christian Leyendecker and Joseph Francis Kernan and a rare, previously unseen and unpublished Harper’s Bazar (the publication added a second ‘a’ to its name later) cover by Danish artist Kay Nielsen, titled “Pierrot with dolls.”
The top lot in the 211-lot sale was Joseph Francis Kernan’s (American, 1878-1958) “Dog Bath,” illustrating boy’s best friend experiencing a dog’s least favorite game. Estimated $40/60,000, it finished at $52,500. Used as the cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post’s January 13, 1934, issue, the oil on canvas was signed “J.F. Kernan” in the lower right. Like Norman Rockwell, Kernan’s brush was infused with humor and charm, drawing from relatable scenes of everyday life — leisure, sports and family — that often graced the covers of The Post.
Another domestic animal was alluded to in a study for the cover illustration of The Saturday Evening Post’s June 2, 1923, issue. The painting was titled “Shoo Chickens!” and depicted an apoplectic farmer with arms and staff akimbo, presumably in the act of shooing chickens. The oil on canvas by Joseph Christian Leyendecker (German-American, 1874-1951) had been professionally conserved and evidenced scattered inpainting throughout. As such, it hit $18,750.
Gaveling at $18,750, a study for the cover illustration of the June 2, 1923, issue of The Saturday Evening Post was titled “Shoo Chickens!” The oil on canvas by Joseph Christian Leyendecker measured 21¼ by 15¾ inches.
New Yorker favorite Charles Addams (American, 1912-1988) was good for the same amount for a cartoon published in that magazine’s October 30, 1948, issue. The ink and wash on board depicted an interrogation scene and featured the following caption written in pencil below the image: “…and then I disconnected the booster from the Electro-Snuggie blanket and put him in the deep-freeze. In the morning, I defrosted him and ran him through the Handi Home slicer and then the Jiffy Burger Grind, and after that I fed him down the Dispose-All. Then I washed my clothes in Bendix, tidied up the kitchen, and went to a movie.”
Two lots with similar estimates finished at $8,750. The first was Al Hirschfeld’s (American, 1903-2003) “Roulette at the El San Juan Casino,” a circa 1970 caricature promoting the El San Juan Hotel. The pen and ink on board measured 30 by 22 inches and was signed lower right. As a sly bonus, according to catalog notes, Hirschfeld included a self-portrait among the players gathered around the roulette table, as well as his wife, Dolly Haas, who can be seen at the end of the table with two dots for eyes and no nose.
The second lot that attained $8,750 was a group of 29 World War II-era cartoons by James Montgomery Flagg (American, 1877-1960). The circa 1940 drawings were done in watercolor and ink, and were each monogrammed with the artist’s initials.
Danish artist Kay Nielsen’s “Pierrot with dolls,” was an unpublished cover illustration for Harper’s Bazar, 1915. The watercolor, pen, ink and heightened gold on board, 15⅝ by 11½ inches, brought $8,125.
According to the Society of Illustrators, Kay Rasmus Nielsen (1886-1957) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and raised in a “tense atmosphere of art.” In this sale, “Pierrot with dolls,” Nielsen’s unpublished cover illustration for the August 1915 “Summer Sports and Fashions” issue of Harper’s Bazaar brought $8,125.
Fetching $6,000, the top end of its estimate, was Arnold Friberg’s (American, 1913-2010) costume design for the Cecil B. DeMille film, The Ten Commandments (Paramount Pictures, 1956), depicting Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora herding sheep. The mixed-media illustration included watercolor on paper, adhered to panel and was signed “A. Friberg” to the lower right.
Among the notable highlights was an original production cel from the holiday classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, a rarity featuring Charlie Brown in his red coat and hunter’s cap going out to check the mail for a Christmas card. Bid to $5,500, the 1965 cel’s scene by Charles Schulz and Bill Melenedez includes a custom hand-painted snow overlay cel and scene matching print background for presentation purposes.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, 212-254-4710 or www.swanngalleries.com.
