HAVE YOU EVER MET A LA JOLLA BIRDWOMAN?
We are proud to introduce you to
our newest friend
As one of the few men in town who worked from home, Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) had an unusual view of La Jolla’s social rhythms. He watched as his fashionable female friends moved through days at the beach, luncheons, parties, charity events, and evening engagements. Ted was there to witness it all, “A birdwatcher on the social scene of La Jolla,” as he was known to say.
These observations sparked a creative idea, and the result was Ted’s famed La Jolla Birdwomen series. This spirited collection of paintings and drawings was inspired by the stylish women within La Jolla’s social circle.
“Ted was there to witness it all, ‘A birdwatcher on the
social scene of La Jolla,’”
Standard Image Size: 24” x 18.5”
1,295 USD
Pigment Print on Paper
Authorized Estate Edition
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
2 Printer's Proofs
Deluxe Image Size: 34” x 26.25”
1,995 USD
Pigment Print on Canvas
Authorized Estate Edition
Limited Edition of 195 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
55 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
2 Printer's Proofs
Secure your acquisition now!
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To learn more about the deluxe edition, scroll down.
ELEGANT AND ECCENTRIC IN TWO EDITIONS
“Wherever she is going, she has every intention of making an entrance.”
THE LA VALENCIA BIRDWOMAN
FURTHER INSIGHT
She moves with the practiced confidence of someone accustomed to a full social calendar. Her long beak reaches forward. Her jewelry swings behind her. Her carefully arranged feathers, fitted ensemble, and decidedly impractical shoes suggest that this is no ordinary afternoon stroll. Even her hands seem to tell a story. One appears to hold the world politely at a distance while the other trails behind with theatrical ease. And Ted has captured all of her elegance and nuance in this inspired drawing.
Around her, the loose architecture of La Jolla rises and recedes. Rooftops gather along the hillside while a stairway climbs toward a neighboring building, one that resembles the architecture of the famed La Valencia Hotel.
Imagine The La Valencia Birdwoman - Deluxe Edition featured prominently in your home.
Secure your Deluxe Edition now!
Deluxe Image Size: 34” x 26.25”
1,995 USD
Pigment Print on Canvas
Authorized Estate Edition
Limited Edition of 195 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
55 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
2 Printer's Proofs
Standard Image Size: 24” x 18.5”
1,295 USD
Pigment Print on Paper
Authorized Estate Edition
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
2 Printer's Proofs
Scroll to top of page to view cart and complete order.
Bottom of page on mobile.
MEET ME AT LA VALENCIA
FOR TED, SOCIAL OBSERVATION WAS
ALIVE AND WELL AT “LA VAL”
The Pink Lady welcomed generations of artists, entertainers, visitors, and La Jolla society. Image circa 1940s.
Perched above the Pacific Ocean along Prospect Street, La Valencia Hotel has been part of La Jolla’s social landscape for nearly a century. Opened in 1926 and officially named La Valencia in 1928, its Spanish architecture, tiled roofs, courtyards, and signature pink exterior earned it the nickname “The Pink Lady.”
Although Ted didn’t socialize in public regularly, he would frequent the famed La Valencia, taking meetings there, gathering with friends, and spending time in the hotel’s celebrated Whaling Bar.
La Valencia also gave Ted something every artist needs: people to observe. Artists, entertainers, travelers, and La Jolla socialites passed through its doors as morning meetings became lunches and lunches became cocktails. It is easy to imagine the La Valencia Birdwoman among them, stepping out for one engagement while already anticipating the next.
La Valencia Hotel in the 1930s, already established as one of La Jolla’s defining landmarks.
“Although Ted didn’t socialize in public regularly, he would frequent the famed La Valencia, taking meetings there, gathering with friends, and spending time in the hotel’s celebrated Whaling Bar.”
MORE BIRDS OF A FEATHER (related works)
Part social observation. Part surreal invention.
Entirely Seussian.
“The La Jolla Birdwomen reveal Ted Geisel at his most observant, sophisticated, and playfully satirical. Each work presents another personality from the remarkable social flock that surrounded him.”
With exaggerated beaks, carefully preened feathers, and wonderfully revealing titles, the Birdwomen combined Ted’s surreal imagination with his keen understanding of human behavior. They were affectionate spoofs created by a genial witness, filled with the vanity, rivalry, humor, and occasional exhaustion of social life.
ARABIC EDITION:
SOLD OUT
The Arabic portion of this edition is Sold Out.
COLLABORATOR PROOF EDITION:
RARE AVAILABILITY
Rare works from the Collaborators Proof edition may be available, please inquire with your art consultant or preferred Authorized Gallery for details.
NOTE: The Collaborator Proof edition has been reserved for important public exhibitions, major gallery retrospectives, and select private collections.
Serigraph on Arches Black Paper
Authorized Estate Edition
Image Size: 13” x 16”
Paper Size: 19” x 22”
On White Paper:
Limited Edition of 295 Arabic Numbers
On Black Paper:
Limited Edition of 295 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
55 Collaborators’ Proofs
Adapted posthumously from the original pencil, ink, and watercolor on paper.
As one of the few men in La Jolla who worked from home, Dr. Seuss called himself a “bird watcher on the social scene,” always looking to create gentle spoofs of his chic female friends. The result was Ted’s series La Jolla Birdwomen, a spicy collection of eleven known paintings with lyrical titles, works that could have sprung only from the mind of a genial witness—for example, My Petunia Can Lick Your Geranium, Martini Bird, and Gosh! Do I Look as Old as All That!.
Extremely rare - contact your gallery associate for price and availability.
ARABIC EDITION:
SOLD OUT
The Arabic portion of this edition is Sold Out.
COLLABORATOR PROOF EDITION:
RARE AVAILABILITY
Rare works from the Collaborators Proof edition may be available, please inquire with your art consultant or preferred Authorized Gallery for details.
NOTE: The Collaborator Proof edition has been reserved for important public exhibitions, major gallery retrospectives, and select private collections.
Pigment Print on Somerset Paper
Authorized Estate Edition
Image and Paper Size: 30” x 21”
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
Adapted posthumously from the original watercolor on board
Audrey Geisel allowed Martini Bird to be published for the first time in association with the Art of Dr. Seuss Retrospective and International Touring Exhibition, which was launched in 2004. Four additional artworks were also offered as Tour Editions by galleries hosting the exhibition: Waterfall, Happy Grasshopper on a Mushroom, Sunbathing Bird, and Horton Line Drawing.
Extremely rare - contact your gallery associate for price and availability.
Interested in purchasing this artwork? Acquire Artwork
995 USD - Unframed
International Purchases: Prices are shown in US Dollars only and do not reflect local exchange rates. Local taxes, import duties or shipping & handling are not included. Please contact a gallery for local pricing.
Pigment Print on Somerset Paper
Authorized Estate Edition
Image and Paper Size: 11” x 20”
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
Adapted posthumously from the original watercolor on board
Dr. Seuss fell in love with La Jolla on his first visit in 1928. Twenty years later, he began looking for a permanent California home—a place where the climate would allow him “to walk around outside in my pajamas.” In a one-day search, Ted purchased La Jolla’s Tower, a rundown observation structure atop Mount Soledad, which had become a lover’s-lane destination. He built his home around the Tower, making it his studio. It was from this vantage point that Dr. Seuss’s La Jolla Birdwomen series was born.
ARABIC EDITION:
SOLD OUT
The Arabic portion of this edition is Sold Out.
COLLABORATOR PROOF EDITION:
RARE AVAILABILITY
Rare works from the Collaborators Proof edition may be available, please inquire with your art consultant or preferred Authorized Gallery for details.
NOTE: The Collaborator Proof edition has been reserved for important public exhibitions, major gallery retrospectives, and select private collections.
Serigraph on Archival Canvas
Authorized Estate Edition
Image Size: 27” x 34” with an additional canvas border
Limited Edition of 375 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
55 Collaborators’ Proofs
Adapted posthumously from the original acrylic on canvas board.
As one of the few men in La Jolla who worked from home, Dr. Seuss called himself a “bird watcher on the social scene,” always looking to create gentle spoofs of his chic female friends. The result was Ted’s series La Jolla Birdwomen, a spicy collection of eleven known paintings with lyrical titles, works that could have sprung only from the mind of a genial witness—for example, My Petunia Can Lick Your Geranium, Martini Bird, Gosh! Do I Look as Old as All That!, and Oh I’d love to go to the party but I’m absolutely dead.
Extremely rare - contact your gallery associate for price and availability.
Interested in purchasing this artwork? Acquire Artwork
1,695 USD - Unframed
International Purchases: Prices are shown in US Dollars only and do not reflect local exchange rates. Local taxes, import duties or shipping & handling are not included. Please contact a gallery for local pricing.
Serigraph on Archival Canvas
Authorized Estate Edition
Image Size: 24.5” x 28” with additional canvas border
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
Adapted posthumously from the circa 1962 original oil on canvas.
In 1963, Ted Geisel donated a circa 1962 painting from his La Jolla Birdwomen series to a charity auction benefiting the La Jolla Art Center. This prized artwork titled Mrs. Norilee Schneelock Poured, Miss Nesselroda Sugared, or Raising Money for the Arts in La Jolla, won the top auction bid of the night, more than was paid for a Cézanne drawing. It was the one the few times Ted offered one of his “Midnight Paintings” for sale.
(A second state of 495 prints on paper is reserved to raise money for arts organizations.)
Interested in purchasing this artwork? Acquire Artwork
1,295 USD - Unframed
International Purchases: Prices are shown in US Dollars only and do not reflect local exchange rates. Local taxes, import duties or shipping & handling are not included. Please contact a gallery for local pricing.
Serigraph on Archival Canvas
Authorized Estate Edition
Image Size: 16” x 12” with additional canvas border
Limited Edition of 850 Arabic Numbers
99 Patrons’ Collection
155 Collaborators’ Proofs
5 Hors d’Commerce
Adapted posthumously from the circa 1961 original ink and watercolor on board.
In 1948, Dr. Seuss purchased La Jolla’s Tower—a rundown observation structure atop Mt. Soledad. He built his home around it, making the Tower his studio. Because Ted worked from home, he lightheartedly called himself a “bird watcher on the social scene.” His vantage point of La Jolla’s social comings and goings gave him a lush playground for concocting elaborate gags on his stylish neighbors, as well as for teasing them artistically, eventually leading to a series of eleven known artworks collectively called The La Jolla Birdwomen.
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