Krazy Kat Family Portrait hits the market (but not with a brick)

By John Freeman on September 8, 2024

Krazy Kat Family Portrait by George Herriman

New York-based Albert Moy Collectables Original Art has a wonderful piece of “Krazy Kat” art for sale by the strip’s creator, George Herriman – and it’s yours, if you’ve won the lottery.

On offer is an original 8 x 10″ “Family Portrait”, signed by “Geo. Herriman & Ko.” as a message and gift to “Edith Ryan“, who Michael Tisserand, author of Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White, believes may be a “film scribe” who wrote for Variety in the 1930s.

In the artwork as described on the art dealer’s site, George Herriman’s beloved Krazy Kat characters line up to say “Helloi Lady!” in a charming ink and watercolour on Bristol board illustration. From left to right, that’s Joe Turtil (we think), Gooseberry Sprig, Offisa Bull Pupp (billy club in hand), Water Cephus Austrige (with Ignatz Mouse resting on one of his feet), Joe Stork (with his bundle by his side), and Krazy Kat, holding a red parasol.

“Despite there being not a brick in sight, we believe any Coconino County fan will go coo-coo over this!” the site declares.Created by cartoonist George Herriman, Krazy Kat depicts the unlikely love triangle of a cat, a mouse and a dog: Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse and Offissa Pupp. Ignatz loves no one but poor Krazy calls him his lilrsquo ainjil and sees Ignatzrsquos flying bricks as symbols of the feisty mousersquos love. Offissa Pupp devotes himself to preserving harmony and protecting Krazy from Ignatzrsquos assaults.

Universally acclaimed as one of the most original and influential comic strips, Krazy Kat, which ran from 1913 to 1944, first appearing in the New York Evening Journal, has long been praised for its philosophical meanderings, poetic dialogue, changing backgrounds, exquisite art and strange props.

An American classic available to read on Comics Kingdom admired for its artistic and literary relevance by famous luminaries such as Pablo Picasso, e.e. cummings and William Randolph Hearst, Krazy Kat has inspired many cartoonists, artists and writers.

Albert Moy is also the original artwork sales representative for some of the greatest comic book artists in the industry today. He’s entrusted by Jim Lee, Bruce Timm, Sam Kieth, Jae Lee, John Cassaday, The Estate of Darwyn Cooke, J Bone, Erik Larsen, Peter Snejbjerg, Liam Sharp, and others to bring their artwork to fans and collectors.

• Check out this George Herriman “Krazy Kat” artwork here on Albert Moy Collectables Original Art

The artwork for sale and trade on the Albert Moy Collectables Original Art site is representative of just a small fraction of the artwork Albert collects

• Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White
By Michael Tisserand
ISBN: 978-0061732997
• Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Buy it through Bookshop.org (Affiliate Link)

In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged – and the deep secret he explored through his art.

The creator of the greatest comic strip in history finally gets his due – in an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about his art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, George Herriman came of age as an illustrator, journalist, and cartoonist in the boomtown of Los Angeles and the wild metropolis of New York. Appearing in the biggest newspapers of the early twentieth century – including those owned by William Randolph Hearst – Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons quickly propelled him to fame. Although fitfully popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art.

Herriman used his work to explore the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia that was inspired by the landscapes he discovered in his travels – from chaotic urban life to the Beckett-like desert vistas of the Southwest. Yet underlying his own life – and often emerging from the contours of his very public ar t– was a very private secret: known as “the Greek” for his swarthy complexion and curly hair, Herriman was actually African American, born to a prominent Creole family that hid its racial identity in the dangerous days of Reconstruction.

Drawing on exhaustive original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and surviving written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.

Michael Tisserand is the author of Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, the biography of the cartoonist who created Krazy Kat. His previous books include the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award-winning The Kingdom of Zydeco and the Hurricane Katrina memoir Sugarcane Academy. He lives in New Orleans.

About the Author
Latest Posts

John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.