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Al Hirschfeld: American Caricaturist: 1903-2003

Al Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist born in 1903 in St. Louis. He is best known for his simple black and white lined drawings of Broadway shows. Hirschfeld's career spanned over 80 years, during which he created illustrations for the New York Times and other publications. A unique aspect of his work was that he hid the name of his daughter Nina in many of his drawings as a tradition until his death in 2003 at the age of 100.

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242 views12 pages

Al Hirschfeld: American Caricaturist: 1903-2003

Al Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist born in 1903 in St. Louis. He is best known for his simple black and white lined drawings of Broadway shows. Hirschfeld's career spanned over 80 years, during which he created illustrations for the New York Times and other publications. A unique aspect of his work was that he hid the name of his daughter Nina in many of his drawings as a tradition until his death in 2003 at the age of 100.

Uploaded by

EricLindros
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Al Hirschfeld

American caricaturist: 1903-2003


Al Hirschfeld

Born: June 21,
1903
− St. Louis
− Moved to NY to
study art in 1914
− 1920 made art
director for Selznick
Pictures

“The Line King”

Best known for
scenes of
Broadway shows,
Al Hirschfeld

1924 – Moved to
Europe (Paris &
London) to study
painting drawing
and sculpture

Created
illustrations for
print alongside
New York Times
play reviews
Al Hirschfeld

Career spanned over 80 years

Did some colorized artwork, although
predominantly simple black & white lined
drawings

Example - “Hirschfeld's Harlem”
Examples of Hirschfeld's work
Examples (continued):
Examples (continued):
Nina
Hirschfeld's daughter, Nina, was born in 1945. To commemorate her birth,
Hirschfeld hid her name in a number of his drawings. This tradition of
embedding “Nina” in his artwork continued until his death, despite a
number of attempts Hirschfeld made to end the tradition.
The USPS, US Army & Nina

Hirschfeld was the first
artist for which the USPS
waived their longstanding
rules against hidden
messages in stamps,
allowing his inclusion of
Nina on two series they
commissioned him to
illustrate, stating, “...they
would not be true
Hirschfelds without them.”

Hirschfeld, in The Comics
Journal, confirmed an urban
legend that the US Army
used Hirschfeld's pictures
as a training tool for US
bomber pilots, requiring
them to find the Nina's in
In addition to the NYT, Hirschfeld's drawings have
appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and
periodicals.
Al Hirschfeld

Died January 20, 2003

Continued his drawing
with no appreciable
decline in skill up to the
time of his death.

June 21, 2003, on what
would have been
Hirschfeld's 100th
birthday, The Martin
Beck Theatre at 302 W.
45th St. was renamed
The Al Hirschfeld
Theatre in his honor.
The End

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