“Pretty soon you’re in a world of your own, whether you want to be or not” (original proposed New Yorker cartoon)

No place, 1930. Original proposed cartoon for The New Yorker by Barbara Shermund (1899-1978), inspired by the bohemian artists’ colonies of Woodstock, New York. Although undated, this cartoon belongs to the period when Shermund was publishing work featuring the residents of Byrdcliffe Arts Colony and The Maverick, upstate artists’ communities devoted to the plastic and graphic arts. Beginning in 1928, Shermund made annual pilgrimages to Woodstock, revisiting her painting and printmaking, learning lithography, and establishing lasting friendships. As her biographer Caitlin McGurk notes: “The region was a melting pot of artistic styles and expressions, (truncated) which proved to be a perfect place for Shermund, whose interests in visual art were never constrained to one medium but who found the pretension of the fine art world irritating and sought a more open-minded community.” In this scene of a casual plein-air painting session, Shermund captures the atmosphere of rural serenity and liberation — artistic, social, and sexual — promised by the Woodstock colonies. See Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins: The Life and Art of Barbara Shermund (2024). Provenance: The Estate of Barbara Shermund; private collection, N.J. A wonderful original example of Shermund’s more self-referential cartoon work. Watercolor, ink, and gouache on paper, measuring 22 x 14.75 inches, signed “Shermund” in image, lower right. Captioned in pencil at lower margin. A few smudges, edges rough-trimmed. Tipped to older window mat. (Inventory #: 1004041)