I'm Dyin', Egypt, Dyin'
Date1927
Artist
Leslie Thrasher
(American artist and illustrator, 1889–1936)
Illustration CitationCover for Liberty Magazine, April 23, 1927.
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions20 × 16 1/8 in. (50.8 × 41 cm)
frame: 21 × 17 in. (53.3 × 43.2 cm)
frame: 21 × 17 in. (53.3 × 43.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Audrey Thrasher de Russow, 1973
Object number1973-16
On View
On viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextFrom 1926 to 1932, the popular weekly magazine Liberty commissioned Leslie Thrasher for a series of covers depicting the courtship and married life of Lil Morse and Sandy Jenkins. The covers were accompanied by a page in the magazine describing the scene. Here, Lil and Sandy prepare for a costume party dressed as the Shakespearean lovers Antony and Cleopatra. In the caption, the sweltering husband satirically quotes -- in casual American grammar -- one of Antony's last lines to Cleopatra. Lil and Sandy were so popular that they became characters in a radio soap opera and in the movie For the Love o' Lil (1930). The image and quotation are indicative of Shakespeare's role in popular literature; his plays were a standard part of the American school curriculum since 19th century.Designed to attract young American family readers, the Love o' Lil images were called Continuity Covers. Liberty was among the first magazines to emphasize reader participation; readers were invited to suggest titles for upcoming covers, which were printed inside the magazine the week before. Winners received $1,000 (the same amount that the illustrator received for each cover). While Lil often appeared humorously flighty and her husband Sandy predictably befuddled, the underlying message was one of American values thought to be commonly accepted, centering on family life and leisure.
