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Lot Essay
Al Hirschfeld was a celebrated caricaturist, who developed his monochrome line drawing style to portray his sitters in a now instantly recognisable way. His drawings entertained and informed readers of all the major publications, including the New York Times - a relationship he maintained for three-quarters of a century. He depicted many of the world's great entertainers, from Cher to Mick Jagger, and of course, Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage.
Louise Hirschfeld, Al's wife, wrote of their first encounter with Humphries in her journal, 1 June 2001, 'At the opening night celebration party for his Broadway debut as Dame Edna, Barry Humphries approached our table at Sardis restaurant. He introduced himself and showed Al a copy of a new CD of the modern composer, Karol Rathaus, with a Hirschfeld portrait on the cover! The German émigré had written the score for Broken Blossoms (1936), a film which starred Dolly Haas before she came to America and was Humphries’ favorite composer. He asked Al to autograph the CD. It was the beginning of a special friendship. The remarkable comedian was a closeted intellectual. He was proud of performing Shakespeare with Zoe Caldwell in the Australian provinces. I began to invite him to our home.' (alhirschfeldfoundation.org, News, 9 June 2023, accessed December 2024).
Louise Hirschfeld, Al's wife, wrote of their first encounter with Humphries in her journal, 1 June 2001, 'At the opening night celebration party for his Broadway debut as Dame Edna, Barry Humphries approached our table at Sardis restaurant. He introduced himself and showed Al a copy of a new CD of the modern composer, Karol Rathaus, with a Hirschfeld portrait on the cover! The German émigré had written the score for Broken Blossoms (1936), a film which starred Dolly Haas before she came to America and was Humphries’ favorite composer. He asked Al to autograph the CD. It was the beginning of a special friendship. The remarkable comedian was a closeted intellectual. He was proud of performing Shakespeare with Zoe Caldwell in the Australian provinces. I began to invite him to our home.' (alhirschfeldfoundation.org, News, 9 June 2023, accessed December 2024).