GIFT BOOKS IN BRIEF : HIRSCHFELD: Art and Recollections From Eight Decades <i> by Al Hirschfeld (Scribners: $50).</i>

Arguably the most influential caricaturist of the 20th Century, Al Hirschfeld would have been recognized as a national living treasure if the United States government awarded that honor: As it is, he remains our uncrowned illustrator laureate. Few artists since Daumier have displayed a comparable ability to capture the essentials of an individual’s face, gestures and manner in a few bold lines. At 88, his work shows no evidence of fatigue or flagging inspiration: His portraits of Eric Bogosian in “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll” and Jonathan Price in “Miss Saigon,” and his illustrations for the recently issued stamps honoring American comedians display a vigor and an elegance that an artist one-third his age might envy. This retrospective volume also serves as a history of the American theater, from “The Wild Man of Borneo” with Marguerite Churchill and George Hassel (1927) to “Lucifer’s Child” with Julie Harris (1991). An excellent gift choice for graphic artists, illustrators, animators and theater buffs.