Hirschfeld

Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) was a New York City institution. In a life that spanned almost the entirety of the 20th century, he became a living legend, a Broadway cultural cornerstone, and the gauge in determining when one had finally arrived: if Hirschfeld drew you, you were a star. This biography is as elegant and witty as Hirschfeld's art itself, and author Stern (Gracie Mansion; Sister Sets) deftly weaves her way through the artist's life from his birth in St. Louis to his final days in a pink Manhattan brownstone. Stern's affection for and knowledge of her subject is imbued with humor and charm and allows readers to know the man behind the minimalism, both the good and the bad. His story includes a stellar cast of characters from artists and entertainers to politicians and Hirschfeld's own daughter, Nina.