Cartoonist Al Hirschfeld’s Pink Townhouse With Rowdy Celebrity Mural Hits Market

1
View Slideshow
0/0
Al Hirschfeld next to the townhouse mural.
Photo: © Jill Krementz.

A pink Upper East Side townhouse which once belonged to Al Hirschfeld, a caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars, has hit the market once again for a cool $9.2 million. (See Holly Golightly’s Chic Brownstone On the Market for $8 Million).

The cotton candy-colored building situated at 95th street between Park and Lexington Avenue boasts four bedrooms, a roof deck, a terrace, and a back garden. It was snatched up by Paul and Denise Lachman after Hirschfeld’s death in 2003; the couple paid $5.3 million.

After a few upgrades and renovations, still lingering after 50 years is an original eight-foot-tall mural by the cartoonist, an image that depicts a rowdy bar crowd scene including caricatures of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Louis Armstrong, and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, according to Curbed. Not only will potential buyers get a sprawling new townhouse, but a piece of art history as well.

And what a coincidence, the house has hit the market at just the right time: the cartoonist will have a retrospective at New York Historical Society this spring. “The Hischfeld Century: The Art of Hirschfeld,” opening May 22, will include over 100 etchings by the artist.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

Share

Article topics
Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.

You are currently logged into this Artnet News Pro account on another device. Please log off from any other devices, and then reload this page continue. To find out if you are eligible for an Artnet News Pro group subscription, please contact [email protected]. Standard subscriptions can be purchased on the subscription page.

Log In