It's a thin line between essence-capturing caricature and insulting cartoon, particularly when it comes to race, so it takes as practiced and bighearted an artist as Hirschfeld (1903–2003), whose caricatures of various cultural figures graced the pages of the New York Times
for decades, to take on the challenge of depicting historical Harlem. Parts of this extensive 9"×12" collection, featuring 30 full-color plates and 90 black-and-white drawings printed on art stock, were originally published, as Hirschfeld says, "in a book the size of a swinging door" the day before Pearl Harbor, with the publisher going bankrupt a few months later. This edition is roughly divided between this original "Harlem Portfolio" of color lithographs and selections from more recent black-and-white line drawings of leading African-American figures, with new commentary by such stars as Eartha Kitt, Bobby Short, Lena Horne, and Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. Each commentator focuses on a single piece, which allows drawings that might appear disturbingly dated to be interpreted into a common past. Hirschfeld's own commentary on his sketches, in the last third of the book, leaves no doubt as to his admiration for the talents of actors, musicians and dancers like Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Marian Anderson, Duke Ellington and scores of others, as well as of his anger at the way promising talents, such as Canada Lee's, were squandered. Perhaps most fun are the drawings, such as "Stompin' at the Savoy," in which Hirschfeld loses himself in the infectious energy of nighttime Harlem, where stern-faced, impeccably dressed residents blur into crackling lines of movement, individuals becoming manifestations of a neighborhood amazingly rich in history, culture and expression. (Mar.)
