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of-town performances, and in-town previews, sketching in the darkened auditorium. Back in his studio (on the top floor of his home on the upper Eastside) he selects the right lines that capture the essence of a personality, the flavor of a performance, the substance of a play. He does the drawing in pencil and when satisfied, finishes it off in ink.

[[image - ink drawing of man and woman performing in orientalist costumes in front of circus tents and posters (one including the name "Nina")]]

The sine qua non of any Hirschfeld drawing - according to Hirschfeld - is "Nina." Nina, his only child, appeared on the scene in 1945 and to celebrate her arrival, the proud father incorporated her name into a drawing for a show called Are You With It? The full legend, on a poster in the background, read "Nina the Wonder Child." Ever since, Hirschfeld has included Nina's name somewhere in each picture (try knee and elbow creases first). When her name is inserted more than once, the appropriate numeral appears after his signature. On the very rare occasions when he omitted "Nina," the Times was deluged with mail. And once, when he added the name of her best friend, Lisa, he and Dolly received congratulatory flowers and telegrams.
Hirschfeld is also fond of insinuating self-portraits into his drawings. He has depicted himself as part of the throng at

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an Off-Broadway intermission; an unwilling participate (pre-Living Theater) during a performance of Hellzapoppin'; and one of the Chorus in a Greek National Theatre production of Electra. Top that, Alfred Hitchcock!
All handcrafted Hirschfelds sport an unassuming beard and presumptuous eyebrows. As does the prototype. Although live and in person, it is the eyes that get you. They are, unquestionably, the saddest eyes in the western hemisphere. They are ready to weep for Hecuba and all lost causes. They appear to have read every closing notice since the Garden of Eden was shuttered.

Albert Hirschfeld was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and studied art and life in New York, Paris, London, and Bali. A trip around the world made with S. J. Perelman in 1947 led to their book, Westward Ha! An earlier trip with Perelman to Philadelphia ended less happily. The journey to nowhere was made with a musical, Sweet Bye and Bye, with book by Perelman and Hirschfeld, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by Ogden Nash. The show never made it back to New York. The fearless four did, but Hirschfeld never fooled with the footlight side again.
Nor has he ever invested in a production. And no matter how close he has been to a play, he insists that when opening night comes, "I'm no more accurate about what the critics will say that somebody who's never been to the theatre."

Al Hirschfeld drawings hang in several museums, have been collected in two books, and have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines. But it is the Sunday New York Times that he is most often associated with - and for good reason. He has been turning up regularly there for over 40 years. ("I've never signed anything with them but it looks like it's going to be steady.")

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[[image - man and woman cuddling on a floral sofa]]
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