TLS signed “Al Hirschfeld,” one page, 8.5 x 11, personal letterhead, October 27, 1978. Letter to TV Guide Art Director Jerry Alten. In full: “I am sorry that we see Mme. Laverne differently. But in all honesty I cannot borrow your interpretation based on anatomical vagaries. ‘I am not now and have never been’ an eye, ear, nose and throat artist. My tiny gifts, if any, have concentrated on character, personality, and other mysterious, indefinable, flashes of insight rather than the altogether reasonable and measurable dimensions of a pointed chin, wide face, overblown nose (no pun intended) or other factual dimensions. I am truly sorry that we have come to this impasse because I have genuinely enjoyed working for TV Guide in gouache as distinguished from my normal fare of black and white. But I am incapable of seeing with other eyes. About the only thing I have learned empirically, across a lifetime of probing, is the incontrovertible fact that a pointed chin, square jaw or other anatomical realities are not the answer to the elusive magic of translating a personality into communicative graphic symbols.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds, a spot of toning to the left border, and some original ink corrections to the text. Accompanied by the original envelope. A captivating letter that lends insight into the mind behind some of the most brilliant and original artwork in recent memory. RRAuction COA.
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