I remember doing a drawing of Harry Kurnitz play and it was a nude. The Times wouldn't run it unless I put a brasserie on her. So I put a brassiere on it and it ran in the Times with a brassiere and it ran in the Tribune without it. ... I think Life Magazine picked it up
And they show an article titled "All the Nude That's Fit to Print" by George Spelvin (George Spelvin is a traditional pseudonym used in programs in the American theater.) The play, Reclining Figure by Harry Kurnitz, is a satire of art collectors and dealers revolves around a counterfeit painting of a reclining nude. The Hirschfeld illustration was commissioned by the producers to accompany an ad of reviewer comments. The date on the clippings appears to be Monday Oct 11, 1954.
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| the original ad of risque cartoon nudity |
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| The ad modified for the New York Times to add a bra and remove her navel. But still no hint of pants. A simple nude can be seen as classical or a study of the human form. A woman wearing a bra, suggesting a modern woman, but no pants I'd suggest that makes it more lewd. |
The director of the the film, Susan Dryfoos, deserves credit for the title The Line King. That's great. The DVD also included a bonus video of Hirschfeld drawing taken 6 years after the feature was released. Both were a pleasure to watch.
