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Hirschfield, Al - Al Hirschfield's Niece

Caricaturist, Al Hirschfield always hides his niece's name, Nina, in his drawings. You can usually find NINA in the subject's hair or sleeves.

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Raymond Hong on 07-31-1999

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kindof unclear but you can see it says "nina" on his arm.

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Jonny Quest writes:: The military has actually trained bomber pilots to spot their targets better by having them look for the NINAs in Hirschfeld drawings.; 29 of 33 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Meechelle writes:: If you look to the right of A.H.'s signature at the bottom of his pictures, the number that is there is how many times he has placed NINA in the picture.; 22 of 23 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

ascotslady writes:: Nina is his daughter, born in 1945. She was born on the opening day of "Are You With It?" and is feature in the drawing for the play in the upper right hand corner in a poster for Nina The Wonder Child. The numbers started in 1960. He did try to leave out the Nina's but was deluged with mail and so took up the practice again. Just because it doesn't have a number does not mean it doesn't have a Nina. Again, the "one" started some time after the numbers appeared because of the deluge of mail. At times he has added other names. Lisa was Nina's best friend. When people found the name, he received lots of letters congratulating him and his wife on "the new arrival." In a portrait of Nina and her daughter, Margaret, he incorporated both names. In 1994, he designed two plates of stamps for the US Postal Service. The USPS does not allow stamp designers to sign their work so no Hirschfeld will be seen with or without a number, but they did allow him to hide some Nina's so have fun searching the Silent Film Stars and the Comedians sheets. Happy hunting!!!; 17 of 19 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Gail writes:: He also indicates the number of NINAs next to his name at the bottom. Finding the NINAs was a family "sport" when I was a kid (in the 70s and early 80s).; 5 of 5 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

NinerG writes:: NINA is the name of Al's daughter not his niece. He hides his daughters name in some of his drawings. Being a NINA and following Al's art for some time I am sure of it.; 7 of 10 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

iamTHErooster writes:: Cover of AEROSMITH's classic "Draw the Line" is by A.H.; 5 of 6 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

SciFi_fan writes:: Actually, there are quite a few A.H drawings without the name Nina, but they were done before Nina was born. If there are no numbers by his name, then it is probably a pre-Nina work. After Nina was born, there is only one known Hirschfield drawing (With the exception of individual frames from Fantasia 2000) that does not have Nina in it. It is an advertisement for "Absolut" Vodka, which Hirschfield felt it was inappropriate to have his daughter's name associated with alcohol. Instead, he put "Absolut" all over the advertisement, but left Nina's name out.; 3 of 4 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

cpr writes:: This is true, it is his daughter. I saw a PBS special about his life,Was still driving around NYC in a big ol'caddy he's in his 90's; 2 of 3 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Angelina writes:: can someone help me find a picture with a hidden NINA? I have been unable to fin even one though I have searched many pictures. please email me. Thank You; 3 of 5 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Ikachan writes:: An article about this can be found here: http://theater.nytimes.com/ref/theater/hirschfeld/?rf=aboutnina.html Rollover certain areas of the picture and the word NINA will be highlighted.; 2 of 3 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Lister-ine writes:: I once saw one of his paintings. In I read a distinctive "NINA". Upon seeing this I jumped back as if I saw a ghost. I wondered if anyone else knew it was there. But now you suppose there were more NINA's in that painting? Bizarre.; 1 of 2 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

scpllck writes:: Multiple NINAs in A.H. drawings are only found in drawings he did for pre-Broadway productions. If he began the drawing in a Broadway theater (as opposed to an out-of-town tryout) only one NINA will appear. No number will appear next to his name nor will a city name be listed under his name.; 1 of 2 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

Gerard writes:: Look (on the internet) for a drawing called 'The Cherry Orchard'. You can find five NINA's here! Three of them are very obvious.; 1 of 2 people found this comment helpful. Did you?

J.J. writes:: Hirschfeld also often includes caricatures of himself, or his wife Dolly in drawings that feature large crowds of people. Hirschfeld is a bearded gentleman, while Dolly is portrayed as a thin woman who has large black dots for eyes and a black dot for a mouth, creating a sort of bowling-ball looking face.; 1 of 2 people found this comment helpful. Did you?