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Lot Essay
As early as 1923, the year he began working for Vanity Fair magazine, Miguel Covarrubias found himself irresistibly drawn to the world of movies. He was as star-struck and as movie-crazy as anyone else in the 1920s and 30s and contributed many caricatures of Hollywood to the magazine.
Covarrubias' most popular series and inventive work for Vanity Fair were done for "The Impossible Interviews" with text by Corey Ford. In several, he paired well-known public figures that would never be seen together, as in these two: The handsome movie idol Clark Gable with the secret heartthrob of romantic women the Prince of Wales [1]; and the torrid and campy Mae West with the formidable Queen Marie of Romania.
More than any other artist of his times, he was able to capture and portray the idiosyncrasies and extravagances of those mortals whom the public idolized as deities.
Adriana Williams
Covarrubias biographer
1) There is another version of the drawing Impossible Interview: Clark Gable vs. Edward, Prince of Wales in the collection of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin.
2) The actress Dolores del Río - first owner of these "Interviews" - a close friend of Rosa and Miguel Covarrubias. Both artists painted del Río and she was a frequent guest at their home in Tizapán, Mexico.
Covarrubias' most popular series and inventive work for Vanity Fair were done for "The Impossible Interviews" with text by Corey Ford. In several, he paired well-known public figures that would never be seen together, as in these two: The handsome movie idol Clark Gable with the secret heartthrob of romantic women the Prince of Wales [1]; and the torrid and campy Mae West with the formidable Queen Marie of Romania.
More than any other artist of his times, he was able to capture and portray the idiosyncrasies and extravagances of those mortals whom the public idolized as deities.
Adriana Williams
Covarrubias biographer
1) There is another version of the drawing Impossible Interview: Clark Gable vs. Edward, Prince of Wales in the collection of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin.
2) The actress Dolores del Río - first owner of these "Interviews" - a close friend of Rosa and Miguel Covarrubias. Both artists painted del Río and she was a frequent guest at their home in Tizapán, Mexico.