Hirschfeld is known for hiding the name of his daughter, Nina, in all of the drawings he produced since her birth in 1945. The name would appear in a sleeve, in a hairdo, or somewhere in the background. Sometimes "NINA" would show up more than once, but Hirschfeld would helpfully add a number next to his signature, to let people know how many times her name would appear.
Hirschfeld collaborated with humorist S.J. Perelman[?] on several projects, including Westward Ha! Or, Around the World in 80 Cliches, a satirical look at the duo's travels on assignment for Holiday magazine.
In 1991, the United States Postal Service commissioned Hirschfeld to draw a series of postage stamps commemorating famous American comedians. The collection included drawings of Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Bergen (with Charlie McCarthy[?]), Jack Benny, Fanny Brice[?], Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. He followed that up with a collection of silent film stars including Rudolph Valentino and Buster Keaton. The Postal Service allowed him to include Nina's name in his drawings, the only time a person's name has been hidden in a postage stamp in the United States.
Permanent collections of Hirschfeld's work appear at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
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