Hirschfeld's Hollywood: The Film Art of Al Hirschfeld

by David Leopold

Al Hirschfeld's line drawings are synonymous with the American theatre, but his work for Hollywood films is also gaining attention. His ability was to channel personality and character into simple line but, in addition to his monochromatic line drawings, this book includes his movie posters which, with their brilliant colour palettte, offer an interesting contrast to his more familiar work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810990520
• ISBN13: 9780810990524
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.1" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Outstanding artwork

Posters used to publicize movies are an art form that has largely been lost. Modern forms of publicity rely on computer-generated images, web sites and animation. Al Hirschfeld was one of the outstanding drawers of such posters and this is a collection of some of his best. Nearly all depict older movies or the stars of those movies, the most recent poster for a movie is from the early 1990's. There are also some figures of old stars that he drew for postage stamps. I enjoyed the artwork, but I also enjoyed the nostalgic look back through a history of some of the greatest movies ever made and the stars that made them great. It is a history of the movies from a perspective quite different than reading about the plots and the trials and tribulations of making them.

All Hirschfeld

Everything about Hirschfeld was already said. He's a genius. He's the Line King. He's almost 100 years old. And he's alive. Get this damn book. Buy the old ones. Collect them. Buy the video. Cut his drawings from the Sunday NYTimes. Stop buying stupid eletronic gadgets, save the money, and then spend 2 thousand in an original lithograph. I did it. Twice. And there's nothing in the world that can make me feel better. Maybe another one.