Hirschfeld's Sondheim

A Poster Book

David Leopold, Al Hirschfeld, Bernadette Peters , Ben Brantley

$48.99

Paperback

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English

Abrams ComicArts
11 September 2025

Individual artists, art monographs; Comic book & cartoon art

For the first time ever, Al Hirschfeld’s iconic art of Stephen Sondheim’s musicals are made available, packaged in an affordable, oversized removable poster book featuring texts by Bernadette Peters and Ben Brantley

Al Hirschfeld drew his first Sondheim show in 1957—West Side Story. Since then, in his iconic, illustrative style, Hirschfeld captured almost all of Sondheim’s Broadway shows and several films featuring the composer’s songs and scripts. Sondheim was a Hirschfeld collector, acquiring drawings directly from the artist and through his friends and collaborators like Hal Prince. In his last interview just five days before his death on November 26, 2021, the New York Times ran a photo of Sondheim in his home with an image of Hirschfeld’s Putting it Together in the background.

This first volume in a series of deluxe Hirschfeld poster books, Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, contains 25 of his art drawn from life before the opening night of each of Sondheim’s productions. Hirschfeld’s images capture the essence of the performances even better than the photographs of the shows. All of Sondheim’s best-known plays are included—West Side Story, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, and Sunday in the Park with George—in 25 ready-to-frame, removable art prints. All images will be scanned from the archives of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation. On the reverse side—rare, ancillary images from the archives, as well as an introduction by Bernadette Peters, an essay by Ben Brantley, and text by David Leopold, Hirschfeld’s archivist and creative director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation.

By: David Leopold
Illustrated by: Al Hirschfeld
Foreword by: Ben Brantley
Introduction by: Bernadette Peters
Imprint: Abrams ComicArts
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 356mm, Width: 279mm,
ISBN: 9781419784156
ISBN 10: 1419784153
Pages: 58
Publication Date: 11 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) was one of the most innovative efforts in establishing the visual language of modern art through caricature in the 20th century. A self-described “characterist,” his signature work, defined by a linear calligraphic style, appeared in virtually every major publication of the last nine decades (including a 75-year relationship with the New York Times) as well as numerous book and record covers and 15 postage stamps. Just before his death in January 2003, he learned he was to be awarded the Medal of Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts and inducted into the Academy of Arts and Letters. The winner of two Tony Awards, Hirschfeld was given the ultimate Broadway accolade on what would have been his 100th birthday when the Martin Beck Theater was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theater. David Leopold is an author and curator based in New York City who has organized exhibitions for institutions worldwide including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others. As creative director of the nonprofit Al Hirschfeld Foundation, his books on Hirschfeld include The Hirschfeld Century: A Portrait of the Artist and His Age (2015) and The American Theatre as Seen by Hirschfeld 1962–2002. Online Hirschfeld exhibitions that Leopold organized during the pandemic won rave reviews from The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. Leopold also co-hosts the Hirschfeld Century Podcast, nominated as “Best New York City Podcast” by the 2020 Apple Awards. His select other books include David Levine’s American Presidents (2008); Irving Berlin’s Show Business: Broadway-Hollywood-America, (Abrams, 2005, which was listed as a “Top Gift Pick” by the Boston Globe and the New York Times); and Hirschfeld’s Hollywood (Abrams, 2001). He has also authored a number of monographs on underappreciated artists for various museums throughout the country.