Not currently on display at the V&A

William Gillette

Print
1922 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Al Frueh (1880-1968) was an American cartoonist and caricaturist for The New Yorker magazine from 1925 to 1962. This print forms part of a portfolio of caricatures, Stage Folk: A Book of Caricatures by Frueh, published by Lieber & Lewis in 1922.

The print is a caricature of the American actor, director and playwright William Gillette (1853-1937). Gillette was famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in a play which he adapted himself from a version by Arthur Conan Doyle' He appearing as Holmes over 1,300 times in the course of thirty years, and also played the role on film in 1916.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWilliam Gillette (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Linocut, printed ink on paper
Brief description
Colour linocut by Al Frueh of William Gillette, published 1922
Physical description
Linocut caricature of William Gillette, full length, holding a cigar in his right hand. Gillette's suit is printed in black, his hair and eyes in grey. Frueh's signature is printed in grey, bottom left.
Dimensions
  • Height: 39.1cm
  • Width: 15cm
Credit line
Given by Alfred J Frueh
Subject depicted
Summary
Al Frueh (1880-1968) was an American cartoonist and caricaturist for The New Yorker magazine from 1925 to 1962. This print forms part of a portfolio of caricatures, Stage Folk: A Book of Caricatures by Frueh, published by Lieber & Lewis in 1922.

The print is a caricature of the American actor, director and playwright William Gillette (1853-1937). Gillette was famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in a play which he adapted himself from a version by Arthur Conan Doyle' He appearing as Holmes over 1,300 times in the course of thirty years, and also played the role on film in 1916.
Bibliographic reference
Theatre Caricatures by Al Frueh: West End Meets Broadway, introduction by Mike and Nancy Frueh. London: Theatre Museum, 1990. 16p.
Collection
Accession number
S.443-1990

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Record createdAugust 15, 2016
Record URL
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