Wednesday, October 02, 2024
Paris Sketchbook (1950)
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Merry England
Monday, July 29, 2024
Slave
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Fakes!
While we're on the subject of auctions don't fall for any of the pathetic fakes that continually crop up at "reputable" auction houses. This one just sold at Raffan Kelaher & Thomas in Australia "attributed to Ronald Searle".
This pathetic St. Trinians girl sold at another Australian auction house, Lawsons, for $600 AUD.
To the keen eye of a Searle enthusiast the weak, unstructured drawings betray their amateurish forgery. Searle's style was loose and vital but never sloppy. His finished works were worked up from numerous rough sketches and had elegant compositions.
I've tried to alert a well-known British auction house in the past who were oblivious to selling a fake Searle but rebuffed my accusation affronted that their "expert knowledge" was called into question. Which instantly made them into Searle-esque stuffy, art dealer snobs!
Sometimes these fakes will pop up on eBay too with the "attributed to Ronald Searle" or "after Ronald Searle" but don't fall for it.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Men Only
Men Only was another early men's magazine like London Opinion or Lilliput where Searle found employment immediately after the war. And, as I've mentioned in posts on those publications, we see Searle developing his style; sometimes appropriating the style of other successful cartoonists and illustrators of the time like Anton and James Fitton. Even his signature is evolving.
Thanks to contributors for the scans/pics. See the section on London Opinion for more