Saxon’s Olive
Here at Spill headquarters we’ve had the Charles Saxon drawing you see above hanging up for quite awhile. It’s an illustration Saxon did for a mystery ad campaign (it wasn’t a mystery to him — it’s a mystery to me. I can’t find a published example). When this original came our way, it was accompanied by two other Saxon illustrations. The closest I’ve ever come to IDing any of these is a series of photos taken of Saxon in his Connecticut studio (and home) in 1967. One of the drawings we have appears in a couple of the photos — she’s the sole woman in the group of near life-size cut-outs. As the three Saxon illustrations bear similar pencil markings and are identical in size, I lean a bit to the assumption that the seated man is part of a campaign series.
Last night while standing before the framed seated man, casually enjoying Saxon’s mastery of line, composition — the whole works — I paused to look at the seated man’s right hand — the one held up in the air, holding a martini glass…. and that’s when I saw the olive. It’s ever so slightly concealed by the seated man’s thumb, but it’s most definitely there. Just a dot, but it’s there. For Saxon, who I have to believe enjoyed a martini from time-to-time, it wasn’t a martini without the olive — even if was close to invisible.
Charles Saxon’s A-Z Spill entry:
Charles Saxon (self portrait from Best Cartoons of the Year 1947) Born in Brooklyn, Nov 13, 1920, died in Stamford, Conn., Dec 6, 1988. New Yorker work: 1943 – 1991 (2 drawings published posthumously). Key collection: One Man’s Fancy ( Dodd, Mead, 1977). One of the giants of the New Yorker’s stable of artists. He could do it all: covers, spreads, single panels.
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Cover Artist, Ian Falconer…1959-2023
Word came in the middle of the night that Ian Falconer, a New Yorker cover artist (with 30 contributed) had passed away at age 63. Mr. Falconer’s wider fame came through his Olivia children’s books. Read the NPR story here. More from The Washington Post.
Hi, Michael — Mystery solved: Those life-size Saxon-people cutouts were created for a piece on cocktail parties in a special “Suburban” issue of Look (May 16, 1967). They were set up and photograph in the Saxon home in New Canaan, Connecticut. The only real people present are Chuck and his wife Nancy (my father’s sister). I remember seeing at least one of the cutouts when I visited them in 1968. — Cullum Rogers
Michael —
What do you think (or know) about the marking tool that Saxon used for his lines?
For example, in the drawing that accompanies this post, did he use a conté crayon? Charcoal pencil? Oil-based pencil? Or maybe something else…
Your thoughts are welcome.
Steve Kobb
Hi Steve, from the originals I’ve seen and what I’ve read (auction catalogs are a go-to source…check out Swann’s Saxon listings) Saxon mostly seemed to rely on charcoal pencil (which of course “fixed”) and watercolors. But he also used pencil, chalk, and judging by some originals here at home, grease pencil. Altho I could be misled: perhaps the charcoal, when sprayed, bled enough to resemble a grease pencil.