Bette Midler

Al Hirschfeld

1980

Drawing of smiling woman with high heels and dress, one hand on her head and one hand holding her skirt away from her bare legs.
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Bette Midler is an example of the type of cartoon that Al Hirschfeld was most famous for: caricatures of stars of screen and stage. Bette Midler (b. 1945) is a singer, actor, and comedian who, shortly before this cartoon was drawn, had been awarded a Golden Globe award for her starring role in the movie The Rose (1979).

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Creator Bio

Al Hirschfeld

1903–2003

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Al Hirschfeld was a renowned illustrator and caricaturist. Hirschfeld’s lifelong passion for the performing arts married his distinctive style with the vibrant personalities of New York’s theater scene. He was able to capture the character of his subjects with a simple line drawing. He recorded personalities as illustrious and diverse as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Ernest Hemingway, Jerry Garcia, and Liza Minnelli, among many others, in a career spanning most of the twentieth century. Hirschfeld’s works were featured in several prominent publications including the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone. His portraits of Hollywood stars were also featured in several series of postage stamps in the United States.

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