Scrappy in the Race

Scrappy in the Race

If you aspire to collect Scrappy original art, you must be a patient soul: It comes along very, very rarely. But I’ve added another item to my collection. And–this being Scrappy–it’s another wonderfully mysterious work.

The piece is titled “Scrappy in the Race,” and was done for a piece of Scrappy merchandise–which I know for sure because it’s marked “Scrappy and Oopie merchandising” on the backside. I don’t know where it appeared. Actually, I don’t even know if it appeared, especially since it’s in pencil and not all that tight. It could have been intended for almost anything, from a book illustration to a jigsaw puzzle.

It seems obvious that this art, unlike some associated with Scrappy products, was done by a Mintz staffer. Is it by Dick Huemer? It certainly feels like it might be–and Oopy’s glee and expressive hands strike me as Huemeresque–but I’m not sure. I asked Dick’s son, Dr. Richard Huemer, and he wasn’t sure either. Like me, he concluded that it would be easier to tell if it was inked. (His father had a particularly elegant, distinctive inking style.)

I do have a Scrappy original that is by Dick Huemer, and other than the fact it’s also on Strathmore board, it doesn’t particularly resemble this one. It doesn’t feel like they’re from the same project. Probably.

I’d love to think that whatever piece of merchandise this was done for is out there somewhere, available for rediscovery. If it isn’t, I’ll survive–you don’t collect Scrappy art unless you’re willing to accept that some enigmas were never meant to be solved.

3 comments on Scrappy in the Race

  • Mark Mayerson

    The face of the pig has a very early Disney/Harman-Ising feel to it. Are you aware of any artists who were at either of those studios who then went to Mintz? The pig looks more Kansas City/Los Angeles than it does New York.

  • Hi Harry,
    This is one of several pages that comprise a “Scrappy” coloring book from the early 1930s. I’ve seen other pages from it. You’ll notice an open-ness to the spaces in the drawing that seem to invite someone to fill the spaces in with color. I can’t tell if this drawing is Dick Heumer’s or not, but it has his dynamic posing.
    Thanks for your blog, Mark Kausler

  • Harry

    Thanks, Mark and Mark. I have two Scrappy coloring books, but both look like they use existing promotional shots, and neither includes this drawing.

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