One of my most admired cartoonists has always been Al Hirschfeld.
His way of capturing likenesses and translating them into simple, flowing and dynamic lines is absolutely amazing and even poetic.
His caricatures are widely known and renowned, and almost every self-respecting cartoonist has learned part of his craft by studying Hirschfeld's renderings.
Yesterday, I paid a visit to the famed Algonquin Hotel located at 59, West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan and was greeted by some framed examples of Al Hirschfeld's artwork.
The story of the Algonquin Hotel is part of New York City's folklore and so is Mr. Hirschfeld.
Al Hirschfeld was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 21, 1903 and died January 20, 2003 at the age of 99.
In 1943, Hirschfeld married famous European actress Dolly Haas and they had one daughter, Nina, born in 1945. After her birth, Hirschfeld developed the habit of hiding her name, spelled in capital letters, on most every drawing he did thereafter. The number of NINAs concealed in every drawing was shown next to the artist's signature. It quickly became a favorite pastime to try and find out the hidden NINAs in the cartoons.
Bob Hope
