(clockwise from bottom left) Robert Sherwood, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt, Frank Croninshield, Alexander Woollcott, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, Frank Case, Franklin P. Adams, Edna Ferber, and George S. Kaufman , 1962.
Bankhead was a satellite of the Roundtable and was a friend of many of the members.
Sherwood was a playwright and a screenwriter who first rose to prominence with his play The Road to Rome in 1927, which starred Jane Cowl. Hirschfeld drew that and Idiot’s Delight (1936), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1939), and There Shall Be No Night (1940). His play The Rugged Path starring Spencer Tracy (1945) was the center of the triptych of shows opening on Broadway in November 1945 that included the first NINA.
Hirschfeld drew Benchley for posters for his MGM film shorts such as How To Sleep in the 1930s.
One of the First Ladies of the American Theater in the first half of the 20th Century. Hirschfeld drew her in many roles she performed with husband Alfred Lunt from Caprice (1929) to The Visit (1958).
This playwrighting team wrote a series of hits such as Dinner at Eight, Stage Door, and The Royal Family.
The popular songwriter was also a satellite of the Roundtable and wrote a number of songs for his Music Box Revues at the Algonquin in the 1920s.
Broun was a journalist, columnist, and editor who wrote the foreword to Hirschfeld first book, Manhattan Oases, a guide to New York speakeasies.
Hayes also traveled in Roundtable circles and was considered one of the finest actresses on the American Stage for most of the 20th Century. Hirschfeld drew her 28 times over 50 years.
Harpo was a friend to almost all the Roundtable members, as well as Hirschfeld, who liked him the best of all the Marx Brothers, who were all friends of his.
Ross banned Hirschfeld from The New Yorker in 1937 after Hirschfeld published a piece in Life magazine in which he took famous people’s photos and with a few strokes turned them into other famous people. Ross did not take kindly when his photo was turned into Josef Stalin’s. The ban would remain in effect until 1993.
Kaufman, in addition to being a successful playwright, was Hirschfeld’s first editor at the New York Times. Hirschfeld was almost fired by the paper in 1939 when Mrs. Kaufman complained about Al’s image of her at the opening of the Bucks County Playhouse. Cooler heads prevailed, as the drawing looked just like her.
F.P.A. as he was known, was a newspaper columnist who helped give writers like Dorothy Parker and George Kaufman their first breaks. He also ran a longtime poker game that included many Roundtable members and other writers.
Case was the owner and manager of the Algonquin during the Roundtable’s heyday.
Hirschfeld was friendly with most of the Roundtable members including Parker. His drawings of her would be used on the covers of several collections of parker’s writings overs the years.
The other half of the acting couple who were often referred to as “the Lunts.” The Lunts were a larger than life acting team who could make a wink seen and felt in the back of the top balcony and were evangelical about the theater.
Woollcott was the first editor to publish a Hirschfeld caricature in April 1925 in the New York World newspaper. He was a later a drama reviewer at the New York Times when Hirschfeld first began contributing drawings to the paper.
The Algonquin Hotel Celebrates The Hirschfeld Century features over 30 over-sized Hirschfeld portraits depicting some of The Algonquin's most famous residents. From the top of the lobby's iconic oak paneling up to the 22-foot high ceilings, the likes of John Barrymore, Harpo Marx, Tennessee Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, peer down at visitors. The artwork for the hit musical, My Fair Lady, which was written in Lerner and Loewe's suite on the ninth floor of the hotel, will be shown. The Round Table returns home at last as Hirschfeld's definitive portrait featuring Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, and more,is displayed at the spot where the original vicious circle once gathered over spiked drinks and witticisms. Additionally, the installation features favorite Hirschfeld portraits of Charlie Chaplin, Elvis Presley, Carol Channing, John Lithgow, David Letterman, Jack Lemmon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Laurel & Hardy, Fanny Brice & George Jessel, Frank Langella, Mary Martin, Issac Stern and more legendary Broadway, Hollywood and recording artists.
The art installation at The Algonquin Hotel coincides with the recent release of The Hirschfeld Century: Portrait of an Artist and His Age, published by Alfred A. Knopf, edited and with text by David Leopold.
The hotel encourages all to share photos and memories with both the Algonquin and Hirschfeld Foundation. Complimentary WiFi is available in the lobby and restaurant. Guests can use #AlgonquinHirschfeld to tag posts and share them with @AlgonquinNYC and @AlHirschfeld on Instagram and Twitter.
