Robert Crumb (American, b. 1943). Elvis Tilley, The New Yorker magazine cover, February 21, 1994. Watercolor on paper. 1...

Description

Robert Crumb (American, b. 1943)
Elvis Tilley, The New Yorker magazine cover, February 21, 1994
Watercolor on paper
16.75 x 12.5 in. (image)
Signed and dated '93' lower left

From the Eric Sack Collection

Famed top-hatted New Yorker cover mascot Eustace Tilley appeared on the very first issue of the magazine on February 21, 1925, as well as on every single anniversary cover through 1993-until this issue appeared in 1994! Leave it to underground pioneer and taboo exploder Robert Crumb to transform the august symbol of comic tradition and urbanity into a typically street-level everyman, gazing not leisurely at the sublime beauty of a floating butterfly, but blankly at the decade's definitive urban detritus. Crumb's movingly grim vision of the 1990s urban landscape is as uncompromising as his earliest 1960s comics, made all the more shocking as the artist's first New Yorker cover (and one of only two Crumb ever had published). This painstakingly detailed watercolor by one of our most important artists and illustrators is a rare treasure.

EXHIBITED:
Musèe d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, "Crumb, de l'Underground a la Genèse," April 13-19 August, 2012.

Note: The image of the published work in the online listing is for reference only. The published magazine is not included with this artwork unless the description specifically states that the lot is accompanied by such.

More information about Robert Crumb. See also: Crumb, Robert, Crumb, R., R. Crumb Artist.



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