advent calendar n°13: New York, New York

Miroslav Sasek: This is New York

First published in 1960, Sasek's vision of New York still remains fresh. He captured the essence of New York that delights children and parents, many of whom who will remember the book from their childhood. Full-color.

Rizzoli Universe Int. Pub., 2009, 64 pages, 3 years and above, English

Denys Wortman's New York: Portrait of the City in the 30s and 40s

Denys Wortman's New York is not only a tribute to Wortman; it is a tribute to New York, the city that sparked Wortman's voracious creative output. From coal cellars to rooftops, from opera houses to boardinghouses, Wortman recorded the sailors, dishwashers, con artists, entertainers, pushcart peddlers, construction workers, musicians, hoboes, society matrons, young mothers, secretaries, and students who collectively made the city what it was and is today.

Denys Wortman (1887-1954) was born in Saugerties, New York. He studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, where his classmates included George Bellows, Rockwell Kent, and Edward Hopper. In 1924, he took over the comic feature Metropolitan Movies in the pages of the New York World and found his true passion as a cartoonist.

Drawn and Quarterly (Nov 2010), 288 pages, English