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The Kingdom of New York

NOVEMBER 6, 2009
It was one of those events that made the drive down from Albany a pleasure.  The New York Observer was holding a reception celebrating the publication of THE KINGDOM OF NEW YORK, a compilation of the best of the past 20 years of Observer art and writing.  It's quite an assemblage, with a great introduction by former editor, Peter Kaplan, a healthy selection of fun and sharp articles, and, best of all, a generous helping of the illustration that has provided the Observer with its distinct personality.  The fact that this book is not printed on salmon colored paper allows the viewer to actually see what these pieces of front page art were supposed to look like.  Amazingly, the entire Murderer's Row of front page artists (well, not exactly, as Barry Blitt was unable to come down) was in attendance. Robert Grossman, Philip Burke, Drew Friedman, and yours truly.  It was a great time and everyone seemed  remarkably loquacious.  Afterwards we headed to Elaines for an after reception dinner.  Traffic karma was extremely benign and returning home was as trouble free as driving down and the 3 hour plus ride was filled with the sounds of Leroy Shields on the car cd player.

The Gang's all here. (L-R) Drew Friedman, Juhasz, Robert Grossman, Art Director Nancy Butkus, an ebullient Peter Kaplan, and Philip Burke.
As Jared Kushner looks on, Peter Kaplan, beer in hand, expresses his gratitude to all involved by way of doing stand up. His son, David, just wants to go home.
Unposed moments oftimes make for more interesting images.
© 2024 Victor Juhasz