Hirschfeld's British Aisles
by Al Hirschfeld
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Book Summary Information
Author: Al HirschfeldBrand: Glenn Young Books/Applause
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-11-01
ISBN: 1557836744
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Glenn Young Books/Applause
Product features:
- Published by Glenn Young Books/Applause 224 Pages
- by Al Hirschfeld
- Author: Al Hirschfeld
Book Reviews of Hirschfeld's British Aisles
Book Review: AL HIRSCHFELD ALWAYS DRAWS RAVES. AND THEN SOME!
Summary: 5 Stars
All hail Hirschfeld, and, more importantly, all hail this trio of tomes featuring works by the premier theater and entertainment illustrator of the 20th century. For decades, Big Al's works adorned the cover of Sunday's New York Times Arts and Leisure sections, sketches celebrating plays, musicals, movies and celebrities gracing Gotham that particular week. The bearded, rotund artist (sort of a secular Santa for show-biz folk) was ubiquitous at opening nights in and out of town. And, of course, each week, there were the "Ninas," his daughter's name, hidden, sometimes once, sometimes up to eight times, in each sketch. (The number next to his signature would clue us in on the number of times Nina's name was hidden.) Cross-country phone calls wailing, "Where's the last Nina?" ensued on many a Sunday afternoon.
Nina-searchers can now glut themselves on Hirschfeld's British Aisles, a collection culled from the New York Times; as a special treat, there are welcome commentaries from such big name Brits as Julie Andrews, Dame Edna, Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Lynn Redgrave.
A veddy nice job, but the real treats are Hirschfeld's Harlem and The Speakeasies of 1932. In Harlem, we can see the artist's style develop; before the detailed line drawings we have come to expect came almost impressionistic pencil shadings, at once more personal and mysterious, more abstract, and evocative and startling in their originality. Harlem has, as well as several historical essays, text by a band of authorities, including Bobby Short, Lena Horne, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and Savion Glover.
The Speakeasies of 1932 is a fascinating look at the dives and divine watering holes of that noble experiment, prohibition. Sketches of bars, bartenders and patrons, along with a written description of the joints, are included. Added to this fizzy mix are drink recipes from each bar; we should, perhaps, avoid the cocktail simply called "Smoke," from an establishment called O'Leary's on the Bowery. The principle ingredient? Two cans of Sterno.
Art should teach us something about the past, about ourselves, about our society. But it should also be fun. Al Hirschfeld accomplished all of this with pencil, pen and ink. If you aren't familiar with his work, meet this terrific triumvirate. And if you are familiar with dear Al (and Nina), then enjoy a reunion with old and treasured friends.
Summary of Hirschfeld's British Aisles
With commentary throughout by Julie Andrews, John Russell, Cameron Mackintosh, Simon Callow, Ralph Steadman, Michael Blakemore, Louise Kerz Hirschfeld, Tony Walton, Lynn Redgrave, Barry Humphries, Peter Shaffer, Julie Christie, Kevin Brownlow, Nicholas Wright, Mel Gussow, Sheridan Morley, and Al Hirschfeld. That Al Hirschfeld drew New York and that Hirschfeld drew Hollywood is hardly news. But it will come as a revelation to even the artist's most ardent fans that in the Hirschfeld archive over five hundred works are dedicated to his British subjects. Until Louise Kerz Hirschfeld connected all the dots, evidence of the artist's life-long Anglomania had remained dispersed among hundreds of portfolios in different locations. Mrs. Hirschfeld has convened the first-ever reunion of actors, directors, playwrights, politicians, publicans, musicians, enough to gloriously fill a new volume populated with nearly eight decades of Hirschfeld on Great Britain, or as we have come to think of it, Hirschfeld's British Aisles! Here are the fabled luminaries of the West End: Gielgud, Richardson, Olivier, Coward, Guinness, Scofield, captured in their moments of stage glory by the only recording device allowed in the theatre: Al Hirschfeld's pencil. Also includes Peter Ustinov, Gertrude Lawrence, Rex Harrison, Jeremy Irons, Julie Andrews, Jonathan Price, and others. Even Twiggy, the only human thinner than Hirschfeld's lines, makes an appearance.Artists, A-Z Books
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