A guidebook for maidens
Date1956
Artist
Gregory D'Alessio
(American cartoonist, illustrator, and painter, 1904–1993)
Illustration CitationPlace of publication not identified
MediumInk, watercolor, and gouache on illustration board
Dimensionscomposition: 14 13/16 × 11 1/16 in. (37.6 × 28.1 cm)
sheet: 16 3/4 × 14 15/16 in. (42.5 × 37.9 cm)
sheet: 16 3/4 × 14 15/16 in. (42.5 × 37.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1987
Object number1987-141
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThe inscription on the reverse of this drawing -- A Guidebook for Maidens -- implies that this stylish woman's attention to fashion, make-up, and hair has won her recognition from an array of admirers and at least one hopeful merchant. Gregory d'Alessio began his career in newspaper illustration and then turned primarily to cartooning in the 1930's. His work often appeared in The New Yorker (1934-1940) and Esquire. He was also a long-standing teacher at the Art Students League in New York, where he had studied. From 1940 to 1963, he drew the comic strip These Women for Publishers Syndicate, in which he created characters reflecting popular culture's stereotypes of women (usually taking advantage of men) such as frivolous social climbers and distractable secretaries.
