• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Key Artists
    • Rolf Armstrong
    • Mahlon Blaine
    • Henry Clive
    • Gil Elvgren
    • Cardwell Higgins
    • Earl Moran
    • Charles Gates Sheldon
    • Arthur Prince Spear
    • Bunny Yeager
  • About
  • Browse by Topic
  • Contact

Grapefruit Moon Gallery

Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration

  • Gallery Blog
  • Golden Gallery
  • Fine & Decorative
  • Illustration & Advertising
  • Paperback & Pulp
  • Pin-Up & Glamour
Sorry, It's Sold

Katina Paxinou as Hedda Gabler

Artist:James Montgomery Flagg
Date:1942
Medium:Watercolor on artist's paper
Dimensions:Sight Size 8 1/2" X 11" Framed 16 1/4" X 18 1/2"
Condition:Some wear and losses around edges of sheet - displays well as framed
Original Use:Illustration of unknown usage
Full view
Framed and matted under glass view in period antique gesso frame

After watching the 1942 revival of Hedda Gabler, starring Katina Paxinou, Helen Morley, and Ralph Forbes, James Montgomery Flagg created this watercolor gag sketch, which gently roasts his friend Cecil Humphreys for his acting in the role of Judge Black.  The 1892 Henrik Ibsen play is a deeply psychological look at the life of a newlywed woman with a deep drive to destruction that is represented by a fire burning in the hearth of her house.  This inventive artwork plays with the themes of the play, and the heavy accent of the Greek actress who performed the leading role.

 

“Meesta ‘umprheys w’y you walk troo your part?” Paxinou asks, accusing her fellow actor of a flat performance. Defending himself, Humphreys (seen on left hand side of image) says “dear lady, haven’t you noticed the sign WALK don’t run in case of fire?”

Ralph Forbes is depicted standing behind the pair giggling.

 

The artwork is signed “To Cecil–Monty after seeing Hedda Gabler.” Painting is framed behind glass in a handsome period frame.

Detail
Detail

Katina Paxinou as Hedda Gabler

Artist: James Montgomery Flagg

Filed Under: Illustration & Advertising Art, Sorry, It's Sold
Tagged With: Gag Cartoon, Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen, James Montgomery Flagg, Satire, satirical, Watercolor
Added to Gallery: May 14, 2019

 

Contact Grapefruit Moon Gallery



    Primary Sidebar

    Join our mailing list

    Grapefruit Moon Gallery Around the Web

    • Facebook
    • Instagram

    Copyright © 2025