Not Comics: Al Hirschfeld’s Residence Is Sold

This is more of a curiosity than a real story, but I can't imagine there are too many times that a late artist's home sells for what is likely something close to a $5.3 million asking price. The theater artist Al Hirschfeld was a significant part of New York City culture for decades, although he's only come back into comics' consciousness since the rise of sequential narrative definitions of the medium allowed for a second look at his series of portraits and scenes as extended meditations on theatrical culture. He drew from his home, one of those upper east side townhouse that cost in the mid-six figures as recently as three decades ago (and Hirschfeld was around for much longer than that). The article linked-to above notes that the residence includes some Hirschfeld art on the walls (it even points some out) although if I were buying that building even partly for Hirschfeld I'm thinking the prize would be his barber's chair seating. Gotham popular arts enthusiasts will now have to set their site on the Jim Henson building, which if I recall correctly is going for five times the price of the Hirschfeld place.

I'm also slightly -- and benignly -- curious as to why the place hadn't been sold until now, as the artist died in 2003.
 
posted 11:40 pm PST | Permalink
 

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