Item No: #6116 [Stalin Awards Medal]. Garth Williams.

WWII Cartoon Drawing from the Illustrator of Charlotte's Web

[Stalin Awards Medal]

Notes: Original pen-and-ink cartoon drawing. Paper measures roughly 6 by 8 inches, cut by hand from a larger sheet and not quite square (as was typical of William's drawings at this time).

In this drawing, a military man, seemingly Stalin, pins a medal on another soldier, seemingly an American Army three-star (lieutenant) general. Probably from 1943-1946, when Williams was a staff illustrator for the New Yorker magazine. Only seven of his drawings ever appeared in the magazine during his three years there, but it did lead to a connection with New Yorker writer E. B. White, who recommended Williams to illustrate his children's books, Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web.

PROVENANCE: Williams (1912–1996) retired to Marfil, a small village outside of Guanajuato, Mexico. Twenty years after his death, many of his remaining drawings were sold to the public, including this one.

Edition + Condition: Small red mark in upper right, else fine. Signed "G.W." in ink and "Garth Williams," in pencil.

Publication: (1943-1945).

Item No: #6116

Price: $150