George Herriman - Krazy Kat Sunday Page - 1944 - Second-to-Last Sunday Page
Artist: George Herriman (All)
10 Comments - 8,744 Views - 3 Likes
Additional Images:
1944 Krazy Kat Sunday Page - Detail 1
1944 Krazy Kat Sunday Page - Detail 2
Krazy Kat Tearsheet - 11 June 1944
Krazy Kat Tearsheet - 18 June 1944
Krazy Kat Tearsheet - 25 June 1944
Artwork Details
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DescriptionGeorge Herriman's late artwork, especially the latest pieces from 1944, have long appealed to me. His last work, done when he was suffering from terrible arthritis and debilitating migraine headaches, has a beautiful fragility to it. The work reminds me of Billie Holiday or Johnny Cash singing at the end of their lives. They no longer had beautiful sounding voices, but there was a purity to their songs, as if they were singing straight from their hearts, with one foot in the grave.This particular Krazy Kat Sunday page, dated 18 June 1944, is the second-to-last Sunday that Herriman ever drew. Like the very last Sunday, this piece revolves around Krazy Kat being "saved" from a pond. In this page, Pupp and Ignatz find that Krazy wasn't in the pond afterall. In the following Sunday page--the final one--Pupp dives in the pond to save Krazy, pulls him/her out and carries the either unconscious or dead Krazy. The reader is never sure. The artwork on this page is very spare. It's almost as if the sound of the pen nib dragging across the Strathmore's surface was too much for Herriman to bear. Like other artists so late in their careers (see the Gus Mager sketchbook drawing of his wife that I have), Herriman seemed to have developed something like a short-hand for his work. Everything is there, but abbreviated in how it's depicted. Only the essential elements remain. My other Krazy Kat Sunday page is from 1917, when Herriman's pen was full of lightning. Style-wise, the works are "epples and ooranges", as Krazy might say. But what I find interesting is that both of the "gags", if you can call them that, revolve around both water and loss. In the 1917 page it's the loss of love. In this later Sunday page, Herriman seems to use the water (and drowning) as a metaphor for the loss of life. Maybe he knew something. Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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glen gold
Member Since 2004
Posted on 6/1/2006
This is so fragile and so beautiful -- Rob, you're right about the comparisons to singers. This is the "When the Man Comes Round" of Herriman. So simple and yet, like the pond, so deep. And am I right, is this the first time it's been reproduced so anyone can read it?
Rarebit Fiend 
Member Since 2005
Posted on 6/1/2006
Late. Minimalistic. Quiet. For the true Kat konnoisseur!
Suat Tong Ng
Member Since 2009
Posted on 5/30/2009
Wow - these last 2 Krazy Kat Sundays you've posted up are truly like a peep into the soul of the artist. Truly a treasure.
Bio Art
Member Since 2007
Posted on 1/17/2011
love this sunday. And nice when the owner give us a lot of infos about piece and artist :-)
Rob Pistella
Member Since 2005
Forum Moderator
Posted on 12/13/2014
This is achingly heartbreaking. Surely he knew the end was near. A brilliant and meloncholy ending...
Filmore W. Bedwick
Member Since 2003
Posted on 6/18/2017
So Elegant and Beautiful!!!! A fitting Memorial to the Man.
Max C
Member Since 2004
Posted on 7/6/2017
I never commented on this beauty. Now it is time to remedy the error. Truly an outstanding piece, my Friend. Treasure it.
Bill J
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 1/19/2019
Herriman's work always moves me! There's something so magical about it. I have a number of Krazy Kat Sundays myself and I love studying them and just looking at them. They always make me happy. Congrats on yours!
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