The Big Three

Yesterday I posted a picture of my drawing board for an online challenge. A corner of my Al Hirschfeld original of me was showing, and I got several messages asking me to show the whole thing. I’ve done that several times on the blog, but here’s the story of “The Big Three” again.

A good portion of one wall in my studio is filled by three caricatures of me by three of the greatest caricaturists ever, Al Hirschfeld, Sebastian Krüger and Mort Drucker. There’s a story behind each (if you only read one, read the Mort Drucker Story):

The one on the left is by the late Al Hirschfeld. Yes, really. You can read the story of how I got this here, but there really is no story… I just paid him. Hirschfeld readily did personal commissions like this if you simply met his price. I’ll never regret getting it. Pen and ink on illustration board. By the way, there are five “Ninas” in this piece.

The middle one is by a German artist named Sebastian Krüger. He is now a highly respected fine art portraitist specializing in pop culture icons and celebrities. Back in the late 90’s he was an illustrator doing these insane painted caricatures for magazines. Sebastian was the guest speaker at a caricaturist convention I attended in Orlando in 1999, and after the convention I simply asked him if I could commission a caricature of me. He said yes. This was the result… acrylic on illustration board.

The last one is the most special, and not just because MAD Magazine legend Mort Drucker does rarely ever did personal commissions. It’s no exaggeration to say this piece of art changed my life. The story of how I got this, and what it did for my career, is worth a read. Also framed with the final is the pencil sketch he sent for Anna to approve and the note he sent wishing us a happy anniversary.