American Gothic

 Searle's 'Atlantic City' sketchbook.

  Searle's 'Catskills' sketchbook.

  Searle's 'Hawaii' sketchbook.

Misc. America

Here's one I didn't get in the book . . .

Bea Arthur as Maude' for TV Guide magazine

Drawing from the series 'Who Killed Hollywood Society?' for TV Guide

'Beauty Factory' 1991 for TV Guide

I tracked this down at the 11th hour but not the original drawing . . .

Mark Twain for HOLIDAY magazine

'Fremont Street, Las Vegas' is one of hundreds of images in the book. The Neon Museum shared this photo of a similar view from the same year Searle made his drawing (1960) - he may well have sat in the restaurant on the right of the photo to make his field notes.

 The original artwork for the British ed. of 'USA for Beginners' sold at auction recently. It's a beautiful iconic drawing - I don't know who bought it. This spectacular original Searle drawing sold at auction for a high $6250. 'Six Shooter' was originally published in Punch magazine and used as the cover for 'USA For Beginners' (Perpetua, 1959). The cowboy's face is very much like that of Mr. Punch the magazine's mascot and may have started out as a rejected cover design.

A remarkable series of love letters between Searle and American artist Ruth Cyril have appeared on eBay. They are very private and should be in the Searle archive in Hannover but they do offer a perspective on Searle's assignments in America tat I wish I had for the book. There's a more personal angle on the JFK/Nixon campaign tour and some frank thoughts on the Eichmann trial Searle attended in Jerusalem (see previous post on 'Eichmann').

For more on America see also 'FLORIDA'

Ronald Searle's America

My forthcoming book on Ronald Searle's American era work is now available to pre-order on Amazon here.

'This is legendary British cartoonist Ronald Searle’s caustic take on 1960s America, in the form of illustrations and drawings (with commentary).

Dispatched to America in the early ’60s, the golden age of illustrative reportage, Ronald Searle spent several years covering everything—in the form of drawings in his trademark satirical and virtuosic style—from sports to politics, for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and TV Guide. Topics included Palm Springs, Las Vegas, the Presidential contest between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon—as seen through the eyes of a caustic Englishman. Full-color illustrations throughout.'