Wortman, Denys

I first became aware of Denys Wortman's (1887-1958) work in the pages of "Mopey Dick and the Duke: Their Life and Times", a large hardcover tome published by Fairchild in 1952. I've owned a copy of the book for at least 20 years. The book not only introduced me to Wortman's main re-occurring characters, Mopey Dick and the Duke, it also introduced me to Wortman's beautiful drawing: strong and expressive ink lines, supported by wonderfully rich and expressive litho crayon tones.

Denys Wortman was born out of the Ash Can School, that early 20th century art movement so named by Art Young. Wortman, like many of his contemporaries, studied under the influential painter Robert Henri, at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. Henri taught his students that the artist's work should be "a social force that creates a stir in the world". He also urged artists to use the "rich subject-matter provided by modern urban life". You can certainly see theses influences on Wortman's work.

Because of the book published in 1952, Mopey Dick and the Duke are Wortman's most recognizable characters, but Wortman's work was so much more than two characters. He did have other reoccurring characters, such as Sam from the garment trade, but Wortman's work reflected the times he lived in, no matter which period. His characters lived and breathed and symbolized their time periods, with a mix of subtle humor, a sharp eye, and poignancy. The grittiness of his drawing, combined with his sharp pen and litho crayon, created a voice of the common man for the times.

The actual name of Wortman's panel was Metropolitan Movies, though it was syndicated outside of New York as Everyday Movies. Both titles fit the bill perfectly. The drawings were clips of everyday people living everyday lives in the city. Wortman was not the first artist to work on the feature. Rollin Kirby, Robert Minor, Oscar Howard and Robert Brinkerhoff worked on it before Wortman. While Wortman's start date is listed as 1926, I've found evidence that shows him working on the panel as early as 1924.

In should be noted that Wortman's wife Hilda played a major role in the creation of the panel, as she photographed city life, which her husband used as reference for Metropolitan Movies. She was a hell of a photographer too!

Denys Wortman's son created a wonderful website which celebrates the life and work of his father. Please do check it out. He also donated the vast majority of his father's work to the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. You can read about the recent book that James Sturm co-wrote and edited about Wortman, as well as the wonderful exhibition in New York City in 2010 on this page.