Al Hirschfeld drew the stars of Hollywood and Broadway for more than eight decades. He drew Hollywood mogul David O Selznick in 1922, when Hirschfeld was 19 years old, and Broadway performer Tommy Tune in 2002, when Hirschfeld was 99.
He drew Long Day’s Journey into Night in 1956, when Jason Robards Jr. made his Broadway debut as the son James Tyrone, Jr., and in the 1988 production, when Jason Robards Jr. played James Tyrone, the father.
He drew every week for 14 years for the New York Times, and every day for 30 years for MGM.
Hirschfeld’s longevity and his talent are celebrated in The Hirschfeld Century: The Art of Al Hirschfeld, an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society of more than 100 of his original drawings, which runs from May 22 to October 12, 2015.
Below a video preview of the exhibition with its curator David Leopold.
Click to see enlarged
