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Catalog Data

Artist:
Miguel Covarrubias, 22 Nov 1904 - 4 Feb 1957  Search this
Publication:
Vanity Fair, active 1914 - 1936  Search this
Sitter:
George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, 6 Feb 1895 - 17 Aug 1948  Search this
Medium:
Color halftone print on paper
Dimensions:
Image/Sheet: 32.4 x 24.7 cm. (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
Type:
Periodical
Date:
1933
Exhibition Label:
Mexican American illustrator and caricaturist Miguel Covarrubias was a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair magazine in the 1920s and 1930s. He is fondly remembered for the series of “Impossible Interviews” he sketched and wrote of celebrities and world figures who would have had nothing to say to each other, like movie star Greta Garbo and President Calvin Coolidge. Such was the case with Babe Ruth in real life: he had his legions of fans, as well as his detractors. His bigger-than-life persona, as caricatured by Covarrubias for the September 1933 issue, could leave polite company shaking their heads. In the opinion of one teammate’s wife, “He was foul-mouthed, a show-off, very distasteful to have around. The kind of person you would never dream of having over for dinner. I suppose he was likable enough in his own way, but you could never prove it by me.”
El ilustrador y caricaturista mexicano-estadounidense Miguel Covarrubias fue un asiduo colaborador de la revista Vanity Fair durante las décadas de 1920 y 1930. Se le recuerda gratamente por la serie de entrevistas imposibles (“Impossible Interviews”) que él mismo dibujaba y redactaba, enfrentando a celebridades y figuras internacionales que no tendrían nada que decirse, como la actriz Greta Garbo y el presidente Calvin Coolidge. Este era el caso de Babe Ruth en la vida real: tenía sus legiones de fanáticos, pero también sus detractores. Proyectaba una personalidad excesiva (como la refleja Covarrubias en su caricatura para la edición de septiembre de 1993), que podía ser desconcertante para la “buena sociedad”. Según la esposa de uno de sus compañeros de equipo, “era un malhablado, un creído, una compañía bastante desagradable. El tipo de persona que no se te ocurriría invitar a cenar. Supongo que, a su manera, sería simpático, pero nunca pudieron probármelo”.
Topic:
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cap  Search this
Equipment\Sports Equipment\Baseball Equipment\Baseball bat  Search this
Nature & Environment\Animal\Bird  Search this
Exterior\Sports arena\Baseball stadium  Search this
George Herman ("Babe") Ruth: Male  Search this
George Herman ("Babe") Ruth: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
S/NPG.96.206
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Condé Nast Publications
© Family of Babe Ruth & Babe Ruth Baseball League, Inc. by CMG Worldwide
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm420a8f3db-20c2-419f-9c25-ac87a0a3d0dd
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_S_NPG.96.206