Harold Gray (1894–1968) is of course most well-known for the fantastic Little Orphan Annie, weaving Annie’s and Sandy’s adventures for decades, through stellar drawing and storytelling. Once upon a time, you would see an occasional Harold Gray specialty drawing show up from an autograph dealer, but I rarely see them nowadays. When I do, they tend to be quick ink drawings that are nothing special. That is certainly not the case with this specialty drawing! The Waterbury American, a newspaper in Connecticut, was celebrating i's 100th birthday in 1944, so Gray did them a solid by doing this fantastic specialty drawing in honor of the occasion. The newspaper was first published on December 14, 1844, so I'm assuming this piece saw print around the same date in 1944. As you can see, Annie and Sandy are reading the paper, while extolling the virtues of the newspaper. The drawing is of published quality, though a hell of a lot larger than you find in a typical Gray drawing. The images of Annie and Sandy are a full 10” tall all by themselves, with the full piece measuring 18”x 11½”. Leapin’ Lizards indeed! Gray clearly took a lot of time on this piece, including some lovely pen and brush work throughout. You can see some light glue stains in the margin of the drawing, where it was likely matted and framed at one point. My scanner sometimes has trouble with aged paper, but the image itself here is easily in Fine+ condition. It is a stellar presentation piece. $1100.00 + 20.00 first class shipping. Insurance, if desired, would be extra. Fee-free PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or a check only on this one. SOLD
