The Intimate Art of Merle Nacht

Merle Nacht’s artwork is like a whisper in your ear, gently evoking a smile, a sigh, or a nod of recognition. It doesn't proclaim as much as suggest. It doesn’t push so much as nudge. Often, the works are just little moments, caught on the breeze, on the fly, on a notion. 

To find her musical equivalent, think of Blossom Dearie or Peggy Lee: artistic minimalists whose sophisticated, spare, and sly works are instantly recognizable and distinctly their own.

Nacht’s wide-ranging artwork has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant and numerous other publications. For 12 years she was a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine, with dozens of black and white wisps of drawings and five colorful covers to her credit. 

Merle Nacht: Drawings, Illustrations, Paintings: A Retrospective will be on display from March 29 through April 16 at Merwin’s Art Shop, 1052 Chapel St., in New Haven. The exhibit can be seen during the shop’s hours: Tuesdays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lary Bloom, editor of the former NorthEast magazine of The Hartford Courant who now lives in New Haven, described Nacht’s delicacy of style and humor to another famed New Yorker artist.

“She’s a modern James Thurber — but without the bitterness,” he said. “There’s always something going on in the drawings that creates some sort of juxtaposition. It’s not cutesy. I always looked forward to her illustrations because I knew they would be innovative and fun to look at.”

Nacht’s work also include….|CONTINUED|