This is a gernerous helping of his work but it only scratches the surface of this prolific artist.
Caged Man, from a series of woodcuts THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN showing common scenes and situations in reverse.
1950
Patrol
View from Brooklyn
The Fulton Fish Market, 1953
The Fulton Fish Market, 1953
Fishing, from a series of woodcuts THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN showing common scenes and situations in reverse.
Shepherd, from a series of woodcuts THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN showing common scenes and situations in reverse.
In the Doghouse.Woodcut, 1952.
from a series of woodcuts THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN showing common scenes and situations in reverse.
Guns, 1962, from Oda a Lorca
from the series VIETNAM, 1967
from the series VIETNAM, 1967
from the series VIETNAM, 1967
from the series VIETNAM, 1967
from the series VIETNAM, 1967
front and back cover of Christmas card published by The Museum of Modern Art
cover of Christmas card published by The Museum of Modern Art
cover of Christmas card published by The Museum of Modern Art. It's almost a crime to present this in black and white, I'm sure the colors are amazing, but it's all I have.
A lot has been written and said about Maurice Sendak since we all learned of his death on May 9 but I thought it was only fitting that there be a space on Drawger for all of you Drawgers and non-Drawgers alike to share your comments, thoughts, reflections and recollections.
I met Maurice Sendak on a couple of occasions over the years. The most memorable was at a small private party at Simon & Schuster to celebrate the re-publication by Margaret K. Elderry Books of his and Beatrice Schenk De Regniers' WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A SHOE? The party was to be for the staff in the children's book division but I begged and begged until they agreed to sneak me in. At the party Mr. Sendak graciously signed books for everyone. When it came to me I asked him to sign it to me and my wife, Aviva. He heard me incorrectly and began to write down a different name than Aviva. When I corrected him, instead of simply crossing out the misspelling and completing the inscription, he turned his mistake into this drawing of a Wild Thing. It was the only drawing he did that day at the signing. I was honored and have treasured the book ever since. Like everyone, I'm a huge fan and a great admirer of his work.
I added a few images to balance out the post but I'm sure his work needs no introduction to any of you.
"Tzippy," pencil sketch on vellum tracing paper. Sendak named the Wild Things after his uncles and aunts: Tzippy, Moishe, Aaron, Emile and Bernard.
Max, Moishe, Tzippy and Bernard.
Max
The following four images are sketches from 1988 for a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.
VARIETY 1997--"Dayton's Santabear is outfitted like a "Nutcracker" toy soldier this year and his companion, Miss Bear, is dolled up as a Sugar Plum Fairy, all cuddly and adorable. But you can almost hear children's book illustrator Maurice Sendak, whose version of "The Nutcracker" is the centerpiece of Dayton's holiday celebration, barking out a few "bahs" and "blahs."
Sendak's non-cuddly "Nutcracker" stage designs and book illustrations were used for this year's animated holiday display in Dayton's downtown Minneapolis store. It's a typically elaborate affair with 150 characters and 22 walk-through tableaux - not to mention the Sendak shopping bags, cards and ornaments tied to the annual display."
The Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact was a Catholic comic book published by George A. Pflaum of Dayton, Ohio and provided to Catholic parochial school students between 1946 and 1972. THIS GODLESS COMMUNISM was featured in ten bi-monthly issues from sept 1961 to June 1962. The series was illustrated by Reed Crandall. Click here to see examples of his work for Blackhawk Comics in the 1940s and EC in the 50s.
Drew Friedman easily ranks among the greatest of contemporary illustrators. His caricatures and portraits have always been a welcome treat to my eyes since I first began seeing his work back in the mid-eighties. The most difficult part of putting together this post was trying to edit the image downs to the essentials. I'm not sure I succeeded in that. Even with the great amount of images I've included in this post it's still only scratching the surface of the myriad of brilliant drawings Drew has done over the years. Maybe his entire body of work is essential. So as well as alerting you to his upcoming exhibit at the Scott Eder Gallery and Fantagaphics republishing his classic LIVING OR DEAD it's just my way of finding an excuse to honor his immense talent.
photo credit: Trent Thompson
I have a paticular affection for these two drawings of Groucho Marx. One because I have a great affection for Groucho Marx and two because Drew has captured him so beautifully. Although there have been many wonderful caricatures of Groucho over the years, artists often choose to depict the Groucho of his movie hey-day and more often still they let the eyebrows, moustache and cigar carry their drawings thereby missing the man underneath the greasepaint and smoke. Here Drew depicts him as he appeared on his quiz show and in old age. I remember being stunned when I first saw the top drawing. I could hear his voice and feel the movement of his lips which may sound odd to the uninitiated but I trust true Grouchphiles will understand exactly what I mean. I guess what I'm saying is that Drew moved past the obvious and revealed the essence of the man in both drawings. Actually, as you scroll through these drawings you'll find that's true for all of them.
What follows are images from the recently reissued "Any Similarity To Persons Living Or Dead Is Purely Coincedental. First published in 1986 it has gone on to become a classic. If you don't already have this in your personal library now's your chance to rectify that situation. You may order your copy here.
Frank Zappa was a fan of the book's original edition as seen in this video beginning at 2:05
