Another Way to Get To Carnegie Hall
It takes more than practice to get to Hirschfeld’s Carnegie Hall. In an April 26th sale at Heritage Auctions, Hirschfeld’s original ink on board 1991 drawing, commissioned to celebrate the Hall’s centennial, and featuring more than 20 legendary personalities from Tchaikovsky to the Beatles, sold for a robust $57,500. While not a record—2008’s Swann Gallery sale of a Hirschfeld 1938 summer theater drawing for $84,000 holds that title— it nevertheless shows the healthy market for Hirschfeld original drawings and paintings.
The Carnegie Hall work first appeared in the pages of Business Week magazine, and the popularity of the work led to the publication of a limited edition lithograph later that same year. A print of this panorama of performers is part of the Carnegie Hall collection, as well as a number of private and public collections, including the extensive Hirschfeld collection at Harvard University. As Carol Channing once said, “There are three things I can count on to keep their value: diamonds, wine and Hirschfeld caricatures.”