Albert Hirschfeld

Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903–January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist, best known for his simple black and white satirical portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.

Hirschfeld's art style is unique, and he is considered to be one of the most important figures in contemporary caricature, having influenced countless cartoonists. Hirschfeld's caricatures are almost always drawings of pure line, with simple black ink on white paper, with little to no shading or cross-hatching. His drawings always manage to capture a likeness using the minimum number of lines. Though his caricatures often exaggerate and distort the faces of his subjects, he is often described as being a fundamentally "nicer" caricaturist than many of his contemporaries, and being drawn by Hirschfeld was considered an honor more than an insult.

During Hirschfeld's nearly eight-decade career, he gained fame by illustrating the entire casts of various Broadway plays, which would appear to accompany reviews in the Times. Though this was Hirschfeld's best known field of interest, he also would draw politicians, TV stars, and celebrities.

Hirschfeld is known for hiding the name of his daughter, Nina, in all of the drawings he produced since her birth in 1945. The name would appear in a sleeve, in a hairdo, or somewhere in the background. Sometimes "NINA" would show up more than once, but Hirschfeld would helpfully add a number next to his signature, to let people know how many times her name would appear. Hirschfeld originally intended the NINA gag to be a one-time gimmick but it soon spiraled out of control. Though the NINAs were a popular feature in his cartoons, with many enjoying the game of searching for them, on more than one occasion Hirschfeld would lament that the gimmick had overshadowed his art. On occasion he did try to discontinue the practice, but such attempts always generated harsh criticism.

Permanent collections of Hirschfeld's work appear at the Metropolitian Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

He died of natural causes at his home in New York City at the age of 99 on January 20, 2003. His late wife, Broadway actress/performer Dolly Haas, mother of Nina, died of ovarian cancer in 1994 at the age of 84, and he never lost his anger over her painful death.


Offiical site : http://www.alhirschfeld.com/
Others : http://www.footlightsgallery.com/hirsch.htm
http://hirschfeldart.com/