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Artist
Paolo Garretto, 1903 - 1989
Publication
New York World, active 1860 - 1931
Sitter
George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, 6 Feb 1895 - 17 Aug 1948
George Herman ("Babe") Ruth: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.93.117
Exhibition Label
Photographers loved Ruth because he would pose doing anything they asked, no matter how unusual, like playing Santa Claus or holding a chimpanzee as if it were a child. He inspired artists too, especially caricaturists, who drew dozens of images of him accentuating his round face, wide, flat nose, barrellike torso, and svelte legs, which Ruth use to call his “pins.” Humorist Ring Lardner once quipped, “The Babe’s ankles are the envy of many a chorus gal.”
Paolo Garretto’s depiction of Ruth suggests a baseball; it appeared in the New York World on September 22, 1929.
Los fotógrafos adoraban a Ruth porque posaba como le pedían, por rara que fuera la pose, lo mismo haciendo de Santa Claus que cargando a un chimpancé como si fuera un niño. También inspiró a los artistas plásticos, sobre todo los caricaturistas, quienes le hicieron docenas de retratos acentuando su cara redonda, su nariz ancha y chata, el torso como barril o las delgadas piernas, que Ruth llamaba sus “palitos”. El humorista Ring Lardner decía que “los tobillos del Babe son la envidia de más de una corista”.
Esta imagen de Paolo Garretto sugiere la cara como una pelota. Se publicó en New York World el 22 de septiembre de 1929.