Madeline in New York City
Madeline in New York City
Ludwig Bemelmans, whose children’s book Madeline inspired one of UPA’s most delightful cartoons, is now the subject of a restrospective at the New-York Historical Society.
Madeline in New York: The Art of Ludwig Bemelmans focuses on the book Madeline (1939) and its sequels, published in the 1950s and 1960s. The show also offers a sample of the artist’s earlier work and his love of hospitality, with many pieces generated for hotels and restaurants, such as Lüchow’s restaurant (closed), the old Ritz-Carlton (demolished 1951), and Bemelmans Bar (in the Carlyle).
The show explains that the first Madeline book, although set in a post-impressionist’s dream-vision of Paris, was born in New York City, where Bemelmans spent much of his adult life. He conceived the story at Pete’s Tavern (still extant), near Gramercy Park. In an early, 1936 sketch, the eponymous heroine assumes a flattened, cut-out style, perfect for UPA animation. Madeline débuted in Life magazine, three days after the start of World War II. The UPA version was released on November 27, 1952.
Madeline in New York continues through October 19, 2014.
August 22, 2014