THEATRICAL THROWBACK THURSDAY: The Line King! An Al Hirschfeld Tribute

Today we celebrate one of Broadway and Hollywood's most renowned visual artists of all time, Al Hirschfeld!

On The Line

No other artist has ever managed to capture the idiosyncratic allure of the Great White Way in quite the same way as legendary caricaturist and illustrator Al Hirschfeld. A fascinating new coffee table paying tribute to his near-century of work is newly available this week, titled THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY by David Leopold, shining a special solo spotlight on many of the most famous and unforgettable creations conjured up by Hirschfeld in his time as prime visualizer of decades of theatre as well as his on the scene work for film and television, as well. With his instantly recognizable art largely demarcated by its incomparable stylistic flourishes and eye-grabbing, perspective-skewing monochrome interpretation of actual onstage mise en scene, Hirschfeld was a master at capturing action, tension, comedy, drama and even music within the silent, static confines of a drawing. Furthermore, his strikingly anomalous style in mapping out and ultimately committing the creations to paper is exhaustively explored both in the new book as well as in the absolutely must-see ongoing exhibit at the New York Historical Society now through October titled THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY: THE ART OF AL HIRSCHFELD.

In addition to dozens of actual Hirschfeld originals, the New York Historical Society exhibit also sheds considerable light on the day-to-day schedule maintained by the man himself for the vast majority of Hirschfeld's 100 years on earth, many of them as Broadway's premiere illustrator and caricaturist - including offering lucky attendees the opportunity to take a seat in his actual barbershop chair where he created most of the works of art themselves. Shades of SWEENEY TODD abound, no doubt! Plus, the rare chance to see the intricacy and actual eraser rubbings intrinsic to his very specific drawing style as evidenced in the many pieces in the exhibit itself is too rich to pass up, especially for the Broadway babies among us. Indeed, Al Hirschfeld was the top of the heap as far as Broadway's best, brightest and most fondly-remembered visual artists are concerned - from his iconic MY FAIR LADY poster design to the hundreds of opening night visualizations that graced the Arts section of The New York Times all the way to his quirky and quintessential depictions of pop culture properties and personalities ranging from Jerome Robbins on set of the film adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY to Carol Channing to THE SOPRANOS. Both the new book and the exhibit itself are essential for anybody interested in the history of Broadway, Hollywood and gaining a deeper understanding of the man behind some of America's most essential and indelible art.

More information on David Leopold's THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY book is available here. More information on the New York Historical Society's THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY: THE ART OF AL HIRSCHFELD exhibit is available here.

View a look inside THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY book and exhibit below.

Also, go inside the man behind the drawings with the riveting documentary all about him, THE LINE KING.

Photo Credits: Random House