Cartoonist Jules Feiffer Sells Shelter Island House

Jules Feiffer, Shelter Island
Cartoonist Jules Feiffer and his wife, JZ Holden, have sold their Shelter Island home for close to the $1.2 million asking price.
Barbara Lassen/Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

The Shelter Island home of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Jules Feiffer has been sold.

Feiffer, whose work appears on this week’s cover of Dan’s Papers, Behind The Hedges’ sister publication, and his wife, JZ Holden, put their home on the market in May for $1,199,000.

The charming house at 5 Emerson Lane sold for $1.1 million on August 19, 2022. Dawn Watson of Douglas Elliman represented the sellers. The 0.62-acre property borders 45 acres of preserved land, including the landing strip that is the Klenawincus Airfield.

Jules Feiffer, Shelter Island
The pastoral views from 5 Emerson Lane on Shelter Island.Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

Shelter Island is such a magical place, and this property exemplifies that,” Watson told Hedges when the home went on the market. “It’s easy to see what draws creative people like Jules and JZ there. The view is stunning in its simplicity. Just field, flora, fauna and the occasional small engine plane puttering by. I love sitting at the dining room table or on the deck and just soaking up all that tranquility and charm. Talk about million-dollar views! There’s no place else on the East End quite like it.”

Jules Feiffer, Shelter Island
The home at 5 Emerson Lane on Shelter Island.Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

Doug Brown of Douglas Elliman brought the buyer.

Built in 2016, the 1,710-square-foot shingle-style home features wood floors, a fireplace and a downstairs owners’ suite. In total there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a full basement. A patio overlooks the preserve.

The new owners can put in a pool as there is plenty of room.

Jules Feiffer, Shelter Island
Inside the home Feiffer just soldCourtesy of Douglas Elliman

The 93-year-old artist, regarded as one of the most widely read satirists in the country, has written more than 35 books, plays and screenplays and has seen his cartoons and illustrations. His work has appeared in The New York Times, the London ObserverThe New YorkerPlayboy, and Esquire, among many others.

Feiffer, who has been inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame, wrote the Academy Award-winning animated short film Munro, the provocative and groundbreaking film, Carnal Knowledge, and the musical comedy feature-length film Popeye, as well as the stage plays Little Murders, Knock Knock, and Feiffer’s People and the books The Phantom Tollbooth, The Man in the Ceiling and Kill My Mother.

Feiffer and Holden have lived on Shelter Island full-time since 2017, according to The New York Post. Property records show he bought it for $629,000 that year.

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