[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 46 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 46

           Honoring the life of Al Hirschfeld and his legacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2003

  Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Weiner, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
 Filner, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Norton, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Towns, Mr. Leach, 
  Mr. Lantos, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Owens, and Mr. Hinchey) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
           Honoring the life of Al Hirschfeld and his legacy.

Whereas Al (Albert) Hirschfeld was born June 21, 1903, in St. Louis, Missouri;
Whereas Hirschfeld moved to New York City with his family at age 12;
Whereas, by age 18, Hirschfeld was already the art director for Selznick 
        Pictures;
Whereas Hirschfeld went on to study painting, sculpture, and drawing in Paris;
Whereas on a trip in Bali, Hirschfeld first became ``enchanted with line'' and 
        developed his signature style of caricature;
Whereas, in 1926, Hirschfeld attended the theater with press agent Richard 
        Maney, who noticed the sketch Hirschfeld had doodled on his program and 
        convinced him to submit it to the New York Herald Tribune, which printed 
        it on its front page;
Whereas Hirschfeld began receiving periodic drawing assignments for the drama 
        pages of the New York Times;
Whereas Hirschfeld became a close friend of legendary New York Times theater 
        critic Brooks Atkinson and developed a relationship with the newspaper 
        that would last nearly 75 years;
Whereas Hirschfeld went on to draw nearly every important figure of the American 
        theater for the New York Times;
Whereas searching for the name of Hirschfeld's daughter, Nina, sometimes hidden 
        as many as a dozen times within his drawings, became a favorite pastime 
        for readers;
Whereas Hirschfeld's work has appeared in numerous books and is hung in many 
        museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern 
        Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the St. Louis Art Museum;
Whereas Hirschfeld received 2 special Antoinette Perry (Tony) Awards for 
        excellence in the theater;
Whereas Hirschfeld was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters;
Whereas Hirschfeld was selected to receive the National Medal of Arts in 2003;
Whereas in 1996 Hirschfeld was named a Living New York City Landmark by the New 
        York Landmarks Conservancy;
Whereas audiences for years to come will be reminded of Hirschfeld's life and 
        work through a Broadway theater named after him;
Whereas success on Broadway was measured, in part, by whether one had been 
        caricatured by Hirschfeld;
Whereas Hirschfeld's drawings helped to communicate to millions of people the 
        excitement of live theater;
Whereas Hirschfeld continued working until the day he passed away, January 20, 
        2003, at the age of 99; and
Whereas Hirschfeld's unique contribution to American culture will be sorely 
        missed: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the life of Al 
Hirschfeld and his legacy, and extends its condolences to his family, 
friends, and loved ones.
                                 <all>