BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Library of Congress -- Exhibit: Swann Gallery

DC -- Library of Congress -- Exhibit: Swann Gallery:

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Description of Pictures: March 18, 2011–Ongoing
The exhibition reveals the power of cartoons to illuminate both human nature and history as well as provoke laughter and reflection. The diverse selection of images on display here represents the fascinating world of caricatures, political cartoons, comics, animation art, graphic novels, and illustrations. These treasured cartoons from the Swann and other cartoon collections indicate the broad range of holdings in the Library of Congress.
This exhibition and the Swann Gallery are made possible by the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. LOCSWN_111010_006.JPG: Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906–1973) was an avid collector of original cartoon drawings by notable humorous and satiric artists. With encouragement from his wife Caroline (1913–1964), he began acquiring cartoon art works in the early 1960s and soon had more than 2,000 drawings and prints representing 400 artists and spanning two centuries. In 1967, he established the Swann Foundation in order to encourage appreciation for the dynamic, evolving field of cartoon and illustration arts. An early advocate for the serious treatment of cartoon art, Swann enlisted legendary figures for his advisory board, including caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, cartoonist Rube Goldberg, and humorist S. J. Perelman. Since its inception, the Swann Foundation has helped preserve a vital aspect of cultural heritage by expanding the formal study of cartoons created by artists from around the world. The Foundation, administered since 1996 by the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, continues to sponsor annual fellowships for scholarly study at the Library of Congress, support publications and exhibitions, offer public lectures to reach new audiences, and acquire and preserve more cartoons. Thanks to Erwin Swann's impressive vision, the Swann Foundation endures as an invaluable catalyst for broadening recognition of the cartoon arts and producing an impact that extends beyond national borders.
2. LOCSWN_111010_010.JPG: Caricature of S. J. Perelman David Levine deploys an amazing variety of lines to portray the strong features of the American humorist S. J. Perelman (1904–1979) -- the bushy eyebrows, large bespectacled eyes, prominent nose, moustache, cleft chin, and asymmetrically shaped head. Note the use of thick, thin, curved, and straight lines, and parallel hatching. Beginning in 1963, Levine's insightful drawings of leading writers and public figures were a defining feature of The New York Review of Books for more than four decades and brought him international acclaim. David Levin (1926-2009). S.J. Perelman, 1978.
3. LOCSWN_111010_017.JPG: French Social Satire In this lithograph, Honoré Daumier suggests that what is deemed foreign or strange depends on the eye of the beholder. If French people and animals were exhibited in China, they would be a remarkable curiosity and attract crowds. In addition to lighthearted social satire, Daumier also drew biting portrayals of the powerful and strongly influenced succeeding generations of artists.
4. LOCSWN_111010_022.JPG: London Print Shop In the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, print shops were distinctive features of London, offering caricatures for sale or evening rental, and providing free entertainment for passersby. In this example, George M. Woodward presents contrasting reactions from two men looking at caricatures of themselves in the window: Parson Puzzletext is angry, while Captain Ruiz advises calm because caricaturists "like to see people in a passion." Woodward focused mainly on middle- and lower-class subjects in the more than 500 popular prints he created.
5. LOCSWN_111010_029.JPG: First Spider-Man Cartoon In the opening page of the Spider-Man origin story, Steve Ditko depicts the hero Peter Parker as a social outcast, physically distant from his classmates. The panel on the right signals Parker's future transformation into the Marvel comic superhero. With writer Stan Lee, Ditko created this classic of the comic book's "Silver Age" (1956–1969), an era of superheroes' resurgence in the mainstream comic book industry, following the genre's decline after World War II. Ditko's clean, eye-catching design pulls the viewer into the scene and sets the suspenseful tone for the eleven- page story.
6. LOCSWN_111010_037.JPG: Jules Feiffer's Signature Character Jules Feiffer celebrates escape through his signature character, the dancer in the black leotard. As she moves upward and away, a small boy admires her ascent. This example exhibits the flowing, spontaneous quality of Feiffer's drawing and the indomitable spirit of this recurring figure. Feiffer's distinctive use of panels for humorous social and political satire challenged traditional distinctions between comic strip and editorial cartoon and influenced many cartoonists at work today.
7. LOCSWN_111010_062.JPG: Gasoline Alley The vividly colored Gasoline Alley used to fill an entire page in the Sunday newspaper comics section. In this early example, Uncle Walt and little Skeezix enjoy an outing in Walt's roadster until the radiator boils over, which cuts short their trip. Frank King debuted Gasoline Alley in 1919. When Baby Skeezix appeared on Walt's doorstep on February 14, 1921, the characters began to age normally, a ground-breaking development in comics. The strip continues to be published.
8. LOCSWN_111010_069.JPG: Afghan Women Ann Telnaes uses streamlined, symbolic forms to highlight the plight of women in Afghanistan. The heavy ball and chain that shackles three Afghan women wearing burkas represents the power of the Taliban to limit their ability to move and be informed. Women in Afghanistan were particularly vulnerable targets at this time when U. S. forces were preparing to attack their country. A Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, Telnaes often draws attention to women's issues around the world in her work.
9. LOCSWN_111010_079.JPG: Liberty's Fate Canadian artist Anita Kunz speculates humorously on the fate of American liberty at the start of the twenty-first century in this Fourth of July cover design for The New Yorker. The mountain climber who audaciously scales the face of Lady Liberty suggests the possibility of unexpected, unwelcome assaults on the free democracy symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. The drawing displays Kunz's polished technique in gouache and her ability to engage viewers' minds with provocative perspectives on powerful symbols.
10. LOCSWN_111010_083.JPG: Caroline and Erwin Swann Memorial Exhibition The Swann Memorial Exhibition reveals the power of cartoons to illuminate both human nature and history as well as provoke laughter and reflection. The diverse selection of images on display here represents the fascinating world of caricatures, political cartoons, comics, animation art, graphic novels, and illustrations. These treasured cartoons from the Swann and other cartoon collections indicate the broad range of holdings in the Library of Congress. This exhibition of facsimiles was made possible by Erwin Swann (1906–1973) and his wife Caroline (1913–1964), whose impressive collection of cartoon art was bequeathed to the Library in two installments in 1974 and 1977 with an endowment fund. An avid collector, Erwin Swann began building his collection in the early 1960s, eventually assembling more than 2,000 works of cartoon art representing 400 artists and spanning two centuries. The quality and variety that characterize the Swann Collection attract new cartoon donations each year enabling the Library's graphic arts resources to grow in breadth, depth, and capacity to inspire new scholarship and creativity.
11. LOCSWN_111010_087.JPG: Race Relations Oliver W. Harrington demonstrates how African American children's aspirations are easily quashed in this and other examples from Dark Laughter, the cartoon feature that he created. The beautifully drawn figures and scene, along with the boy's words combine to convey a poignant message on inequities of opportunity and exemplify Harrington's effective use of cartoon art to comment sharply on race relations. After completing a degree in art from Yale University, he became one of the first African American cartoonists to win international recognition.
12. LOCSWN_111010_092.JPG: Impossible Interviews Mexican-born artist Miguel Covarrubias pairs the aging capitalist John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1839–1937), with the communist leader Josef Stalin (1878–1953). Covarrubias portrays the men as captains of industry in one of his "Impossible Interviews," his celebrated series in Vanity Fair that featured well known public figures who would never be seen together in real life. A master caricaturist, Covarrubias boldly distorts the outer appearances of his subjects as a means of suggesting inner traits of character.
13. LOCSWN_111010_098.JPG: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs From left to right, each of the seven dwarfs, Bashful, Sleepy, Doc, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, and Sneezy, is carefully individualized in facial expression, figure, and pose in this charming presentation drawing attributed to Swedish-born children's book illustrator Gustaf Tenggren. The names and physical traits of the dwarfs in this drawing are retained in the popular film classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, created by Walt Disney (1901–1966). Tenggren worked on the later stages of Snow White and mainly provided inspirational sketches and publicity materials.
14. LOCSWN_111010_107.JPG: Enduring Symbols of Empire In this depiction of a lion leaping toward a tiger that has attacked a woman and baby, John Tenniel refers to the revenge the British inflicted on India for killing innocent European women and children during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Tenniel was a British illustrator and political cartoonist whose work commented on British politics and society during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He carefully crafted this political cartoon based on a lost, earlier version originally published in 1857 in Punch, a periodical that he served for many years as chief cartoonist. This famous drawing helped popularize the lion as a modern symbol of the British Empire in cartoons.
15. LOCSWN_111010_115.JPG: States of Emotion A man in a tall black hat gazes longingly at coins displayed behind a window in this scene by Honoré Daumier, the acknowledged master of French graphic satire. In contrast with Daumier's renowned caricatures of politically powerful figures, this lithograph represents a penetrating study of a fellow citizen at a revealing moment, one in his series entitled Emotions Parisiennes. Using his distinctive, expressive line, Daumier portrays the somber, self-contained figure with pursed lips and melancholy gaze, imbuing the man's form with a timeless vulnerability. The drawing's title means "Gold is a myth for those who have not a penny."
16. LOCSWN_111010_122.JPG: Napoleon's Decisive Moment James Gillray, the leading caricaturist of Britain's late-eighteenth-century golden age of satire, shows Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) striding forth to seize control in a coup d'état on November 10, 1799, by ousting members of the Directory, France's post-revolution government. In this print, published just days after, Gillray distorts the features of the soldiers, drummer boy, and fleeing figures but does not caricature Napoleon, whose calm and commanding appearance amid the upheaval befits a figure destined to govern as dictator.
17. LOCSWN_111010_127.JPG: Questioning the Power of the Press In this drawing for the leftist journal The Masses, Art Young attacks newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951) by casting the capitalist press as a house of prostitution, where "Madam Editor" welcomes the "Advertiser Client." Among his most famous cartoons, this drawing marks a shift from humor to politics that occurred in this publication where Young served as a founding editor and contributor from 1911–1918. Following study abroad, Young began his career by cartooning for Inter Ocean with Thomas Nast in Chicago. Later, he drew cartoons for Cosmopolitan, Puck, Collier's, Hearst's Evening Journal, Saturday Evening Post, and Life.
18. LOCSWN_111010_135.JPG: Urban Anxieties In these two cityscapes, Winsor McCay, a prolific cartoonist known for his striking graphic style, highlights sources of urban anxiety. The rampant social ills of the 1920s included bootleg liquor, violent crime, drugs, and fraudulent money-making schemes. A decade later, McCay depicts an alarming mechanical beast labeled "technocracy," a 1930s concept advocating management of society by technical experts. Between 1913 and 1934 McCay drew bold, fine-lined editorial cartoons for leading newspapers including New York American and New York Herald-Tribune.
19. LOCSWN_111010_153.JPG: Attention Voters! Anne Mergen challenges apathetic voters in this cartoon, in which she portrays a staggering number of people lined up for the circus, the Orange Bowl, and the theater while just two lonely voters appear at voting booths. Between 1933 and 1956, Mergen worked as the editorial cartoonist for the Miami Daily News during an era when few women held such jobs. In addition to foreign and domestic politics, Mergen repeatedly addressed voting and other issues she deemed vital to civic welfare.
20. LOCSWN_111010_159.JPG: Youthful Perspective on Brown vs. Board of Education Three African American boys wryly consider the possibility of attending desegregated schools, the intended result of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling on the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which called for integration of public schools. Condemning the decision, governors of Southern states vowed to circumvent the ruling and integration was impeded for years. In his work, African American cartoonist Oliver Harrington sharply criticized the race situation in the United States and displayed notable sensitivity to the plight of young black children.
21. LOCSWN_111010_164.JPG: Image Prefigures a Depression Icon In his graphical review for Fritz Lang's modernist film Metropolis, Reginald Marsh depicts lines of automaton-like factory workers in a futuristic dystopia. His drawing poignantly prefigures his later indelible images of Depression-era breadlines. A well known chronicler of the American scene, Marsh began as a freelance illustrator, newspaper artist, and contributor to the New Yorker. He produced lushly drawn cartoons based on observations of urban life for the magazine between 1925 and 1934.
22. LOCSWN_111010_171.JPG: Britain Faces Nazi Threat Leslie Illingworth pits a small British plane flown by a haloed St. George against a looming, winged Nazi "dragon" who crawls over the orderly English countryside; the dragon's claw-like arm partly crushing the town below. Illingworth's detailed depiction of buildings and fleeing figures foreshadows the wartime destruction in soon-to-be bombed Britain. One of Britain's great twentieth-century cartoonists, Illingworth won acclaim for the artistry of his drawing and produced particularly strong commentary on World War II.
23. LOCSWN_111010_177.JPG: In Tribute Felipe Galindo, a Mexican-born, New York-based cartoonist and animator, created this cartoon in tribute to U.S. soldiers' service in the war in Iraq. Galindo thoughtfully juxtaposes two images within the form of an hourglass. In the upper part, a U.S. soldier in Iraq stands on alert. In the lower part, the helmet-topped rifles of six deceased soldiers commemorate the ultimate sacrifice each made and underscore the gravity of their living comrade's commitment. Like many cartoonists today, Galindo first produces a drawing in ink and then adds color digitally to complete the final version. Both versions are displayed.
24. LOCSWN_111010_187.JPG: Incursions on Privacy Ann Telnaes's clear, cleanly designed composition focuses the viewer on the figures' interaction. The check-writing customer is startled because the cashier matter-of-factly demands excessive amounts of personal information. When Telnaes created this cartoon, the United States had just invaded Iraq, anti-war protests were taking place, and national security measures were tightened dramatically, causing increased incursions into personal privacy. Incorporating humor, exaggeration, and a small U.S. flag, this Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist draws attention to how personal privacy can be jeopardized by increased security.
25. LOCSWN_111010_190.JPG: More Than One Species Threatened Jim Morin shows a man notifying polar bears that global warming threatens their species' survival and visually underscores the point with an ominous fissure in the ice. The bear's humorous reply asserts a connection among the fates of all large mammals on earth. Morin created this cartoon just days after the U.S. government proposed listing polar bears as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act. Environmental issues represent an important, ongoing concern in this Pulitzer Prize-winning American cartoonist's work.
26. LOCSWN_111010_197.JPG: Capturing a Historic Moment As Barack Obama is sworn in as the first African American President of the United States, he is envisioned standing upon a platform raised by historic advocates for civil rights and freedom, including Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Matt Wuerker's tiered, vertical composition with smiling faces produces the visual sensation of uplifting celebration. A freelance cartoonist and illustrator for years, Wuerker is now the staff cartoonist for the Washington, D.C.- based news service Politico and won the Herblock Prize in 2010.
27. LOCSWN_111010_203.JPG: Concern for the Environment Two closely related cartoons offer a glimpse into Jeff Danziger's creative process. His initial pencil drawing shows a Chinese family joining other protectively masked bicyclers traveling to work against a backdrop of polluting smokestacks. Using a photocopy of the penciled image as a base, Danziger adds fine lines in ink and opaque white as well as a partly obscured sun, all of which heighten the impression of atmospheric pollution in his finished cartoon. China's dependence on pollution-causing coal to fuel much of its economy drew major media coverage in 2006 and continues to be hotly debated.
28. LOCSWN_111010_212.JPG: Framing the Debate When Tony Auth created this cartoon, same-sex marriage had only recently been legalized in Massachusetts, and debate on the topic flared across America. Both drawings, ink and digitally produced, demonstrate a bold use of black space and strong graphic lines. Auth's use of reverse lettering on the darkened steps of the final version dramatically reinforces the idea of progression within the historical context of other constituencies' struggles for equal civil and human rights. A Pulitzer Prize and Herblock Prize winner, Auth has been editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1971.
29. LOCSWN_111010_220.JPG: Marking the End of an Era In this drawing, former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev (b. 1931) leads a funeral procession for communism as its hallowed trinity of Karl Marx (1818–1883), Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), and Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) hovers in dismay. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Edmund Valtman hails the fragmentation of the communist Soviet Union in his triumphant scene. Born in Estonia, Valtman experienced firsthand the economic and political repression imposed on his native land when it was under communist rule.
30. LOCSWN_111010_232.JPG: Bedtime Story? As her young daughter Alix waits patiently for a bedtime story, Valerie (Val) Stone expounds humorously on the irrelevance of fairy tales to her own life. Jan Eliot's impeccably drawn comic strip Stone Soup focuses on the daily lives of Val, a single mother, her household that includes her two daughters and mother, her workplace, and her sister. The trials and triumphs of this blended family form the heart of this strip, making it unusual among family-centered comics that traditionally feature two-parent households. Eliot's first comic Patience and Sarah was followed by Sister City, which was renamed Stone Soup in 1995, when it became nationally syndicated.
31. LOCSWN_111010_240.JPG: Comic Filled with Commentary Aaron McGruder casts a sharply satirical eye on relations between blacks and whites in his highly successful, provocative comic strip The Boondocks. Through the voices of Huey Freeman, his brother Riley, and their grandfather, McGruder fearlessly targets American presidents, public office holders, performing artists, and institutions. In this Sunday feature that is produced entirely digitally, Huey and his friend Caesar take on the FBI. McGruder launched his strip in print in 1997 in the University of Maryland's student newspaper while completing a degree in African American Studies. When syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate in 1999, Boondocks appeared in 195 newspapers, making McGruder one of the few black cartoonists represented on the comics pages of major daily newspapers.
32. LOCSWN_111010_247.JPG: Fictitious Comics History Zippy, the muu-muu clad pinhead created by Bill Griffith, first appeared in the underground Real Pulp Comix #1, in 1971, then in the Berkeley Barb in 1976, and became a daily strip in 1985 that won a devoted following. In this example, Zippy and his friend "Intal" share enthusiasm over the ink work of the fictitious "Morty Mishkin" in Atomic Duck comic books. Their pleasure disappears when Mishkin's son sends word that his father would have wanted everything to be given to the Library of Congress. This strip spoofs comic book fans' admiration for late, great comic artists' work.
33. LOCSWN_111010_253.JPG: A Dog's Fantasy Patrick McDonnell imagines his leading character Earl, accompanied by his friend Mooch, transporting a potential home provider to the Animal Shelter in this Sunday feature of Mutts. McDonnell carefully sequences his animal characters' actions and thoughts in order to reveal their quirks and traits of personality. He occasionally advocates for animals' welfare, as seen in this thoughtful strip. Fulfilling a lifelong ambition with the 1994 launch of Mutts, McDonnell has since received numerous awards including the National Cartoonists Society Reuben for Cartoonist of the Year in 1999.
34. LOCSWN_111010_260.JPG: Timely and Timeless New Comic Art Acquisitions This exhibition of recently acquired comic and cartoon art by the Library demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of collection development. These new acquisitions build on the established strengths of the collections in political and social satire, comic strips, and caricature and also respond to recent trends in the world of cartooning. The latter include growth in mainstream and alternative comic book industries and the related, rapidly rising importance of graphic novels or narratives. Inclusion of original comic book and graphic narrative art among the Library's new additions underscores these trends. The recent acquisitions on view in this exhibition also reveal a state of transition in the technical means currently employed in the creative process of cartooning. Today, for example, many editorial cartoonists and comic strip creators use a hybrid process that combines drawing by hand, with color and gray tones added digitally to complete the finished work. Other cartoonists create their imagery entirely with digital technology and a select group uses no digital technology whatsoever. The exhibition includes examples of all these approaches. The support of the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, special funds, and the generosity of numerous donors, many of them artists who have given original work, have all been critical to the development of the Library's comic art holdings.
35. LOCSWN_111010_266.JPG: Keeping Up With Technology Alan Dunn depicts the Library of Congress as a miniaturized temple of knowledge against the backdrop of the nation's capitol. His witty commentary on the capacity of microfilm to compress the content of the Library's collections in the 1960s did not accurately forecast the future. Even with today's digital technologies and online access, the Library's storage needs for books and multi-format resources has increased exponentially. One of more than 1,900 drawings that Dunn contributed to the New Yorker magazine, this example displays his crisp pen-and-ink technique and deft rendering of architecture.
36. LOCSWN_111010_276.JPG: Caricature by a Colorist Will Cotton depicts the British author H. G. Wells (1866–1946) with the greenish pallor of heartburn that has caused him to dream of a burning earth streaking across the sky. A prolific writer in many genres, Wells is particularly renowned for imaginative works of science fiction such as the War of the Worlds. Cotton's distinctive use of color as a means of expression and satiric tone contrasts with the predominantly linear technique employed by many caricaturists during the 1920s and 1930s. Between 1931 and 1935 Vanity Fair magazine published many caricatures by Cotton that are similar to this example in format and use of vivid color.
37. LOCSWN_111010_282.JPG: Iconic Singer-Songwriter Illustrator and caricaturist Glynis Sweeny captures Paul Simon (b. 1941) in the exertion of performing. She drew this caricature for the Detroit News close to the time of Simon's "Born at the Right Time" tour, which he began with his performance at the Palace in Detroit on January 16, 1991. Sweeny worked as an illustrator and page designer for the Detroit News until 1995, when she moved to New York. Drawing mainly in wax-based colored pencil, she has become known for her satirical depictions of political and business figures that appear in leading newspapers and magazines.
38. LOCSWN_111010_290.JPG: Fairy-Tale Romance Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (1923–2005) married the Oscar-winning American actress Grace Kelly (1929–1982) in 1956, an event the press dubbed "The Wedding of the Century." Diana Denny Kalmus (known professionally as "Denny") portrayed the glamorous couple with emphatic, graceful lines executed in brush and ink in this drawing, one of more than 1,000 that she created between the mid-1940s and 1960s. Affiliated with the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance most of these years, Denny produced caricatures of American generals and political leaders, foreign heads of state, and celebrated stars of film and stage that were published in multiple newspapers, often on the front page.
39. LOCSWN_111010_296.JPG: Dynamic Defining Lines Al Hirschfeld captures the unique vitality of Betty Hutton (1921–2007) in his theatrical caricature of her performing at the Palace Theater in a variety show. The drawing displays the hallmarks of Hirschfeld's style -- his fluid line that seems alive in tracing the contours and flowing motion of Hutton's arms and graceful legs and patterning that sets off her face, figure, and movements. For more than seven decades Hirschfeld created compelling caricatures of the great performers of New York's theater world that were published primarily in the New York Times. His elegant, linear style in pen and ink is instantly recognizable and has influenced and inspired succeeding generations of artists. The Library named him a "Living Legend" and celebrated his extraordinary career in a Swann Gallery exhibition in 1999–2000.
40. LOCSWN_111010_305.JPG: Wordless Wood Engraving Novel Lynd Ward's Prelude to a Million Years graphically portrays its protagonist, a young sculptor, as a figure apart from all others. In one revealing image, the artist chooses to be alone, turning away from the only other figure on an empty city street. In another scene, a soldier detains the protagonist for not removing his hat in the presence of the American flag, an instance of an authority figure stigmatizing or setting the artist apart from others. Prelude is the third of Ward's six wordless wood engraving novels, groundbreaking works published between 1929 and 1937. Collectively, they represent a crucial strand in the evolution of the graphic novel. Ward's Prelude also contains some of his best wood engravings, characterized by remarkably fine, delicate lines, mastery of detail, and overall evenness in execution.
41. LOCSWN_111010_318.JPG: Wordless Classic of Modern Urban Life Inspired by the graphic art of Lynd Ward and other creators of wordless novels, Eric Drooker drew his visionary work Flood: A Novel in Pictures between 1985 and 1992. Winner of a 1994 National Book Award, Flood unfolds a moving narrative of contemporary urban life in black-and-white scratchboard drawings. Drooker's stark, yet often detailed imagery produces aesthetic effects similar to those of Ward's wood engravings. Drooker, however, works in a more expressionistic manner to convey his Everyman character's state of alienation and vulnerability to assault by authority figures.
42. LOCSWN_111010_329.JPG: Spider-Man, A Silver Age Classic Part Two of the Spider-man origin story opens dramatically as Peter Parker, fully transformed from teenage social outcast into superhero, displays his special powers before a television show audience. Combined with writer Stan Lee's text, Ditko's accomplished, realistic drawing and deft pacing of action scenes make the comic book story a classic of the Silver Age (1956–1969). During this period, newly emerging superheroes reinvigorated the mainstream comic book industry, following the genre's post-World War II decline.
43. LOCSWN_111010_336.JPG: Comic Book Cover Art This drawing displays the strong draftsmanship and skillfully rendered light effects and textures that made Mac Raboy a sought-after cover artist during the Golden Age of comic books (1938–1949). During this era when modern comic books were first published, Superman and other popular superheroes emerged and became well defined. New York City native Raboy began working for early comic book publishers Harry "A" Chesler (1898–1981) and Fawcett Publications in the 1940s. His figure of Mr. E firing a weapon exemplifies the dynamic masculine imagery popular on comic book covers during World War II. Raboy was best known for drawing Captain Marvel, Jr., and later illustrated the Flash Gordon comic strip.
44. LOCSWN_111010_350.JPG: Heroic Passengers During the September 11 terrorist attacks, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 overcame their hijackers by sacrificing their own lives in the process. Exactly how they did so remains unknown, but Croatian-born Igor Kordey dramatically envisions their heroism. Three passengers advance toward the viewer, their brightly illuminated figures countering the darkly shadowed terrorists in the foreground. Kordey draws on experience in depicting action-filled comics to infuse this scene with great immediacy.
45. LOCSWN_111010_359.JPG: Why Keep Drawing Comics? The story's opening page shows an artist's hand inking the image of Superman, as the artist Vince objects to doing the work. He and his father, also a comic book artist, discuss Vince's dissatisfaction with depicting superheroes in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. On the final page, the father gives tribute to those who perished in the tragedy, but also asserts, "We help our country cope with tragedies like this one. We make people think, we help them laugh again, or maybe we just give them a place to escape for a little while." Peter Woods and Keith Champagne apply skills gained from years of portraying superheroes to depict this engaging story with dramatic flair.
46. LOCSWN_111010_366.JPG: Reality Eclipses Special Effects In his opening scenes, Will Eisner depicts a meeting led by a man who dismisses all suggestions for movie scripts, calling for "the real thing." In succeeding frames, the World Trade Center disintegrates, rendering everyone bowed and speechless. Eisner deploys his formidable skills in crafting well-paced, boldly framed scenes to produce a tight, compelling narrative. As the nation comprehended the enormous tragedy wrought by the terrorist attacks of September 11, Eisner, a legendary American comic book and graphic novel creator, was prominent among the many cartoonists who responded early through their art.
47. LOCSWN_111010_383.JPG: Buildings Embody Humanity In five sequential images, Mac McGill combines his distinctive, fine-lined ink technique and conception of New York's World Trade Center towers as humanized forms to comment movingly on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The second drawing shows both buildings following the assaults, their upper stories enveloped in swirling flames and smoke from which screaming victims' faces emerge. The towers' jutting diagonals produce a visually jarring sensation of instability, which adds to the image's haunting effect.
48. LOCSWN_111010_391.JPG: A Picture of Worry Cramped and contorted, an Everyman figure peers from a picture frame covered with miniaturized U.S. currency, legal documents with stamps, a MasterCard, images of a house, and a bottle of chardonnay. Symbolizing financial obligations and material desires, these encircling objects overwhelm the anxiety-ridden figure. Canadian artist Anita Kunz produced this strong, conceptual work for an article on investors' ambivalence about investing for the future at a time when many were experiencing financial hardship because of the 1990s savings and loan crisis.
49. LOCSWN_111010_396.JPG: Caveat Emptor Roz Chast spoofs American advertising in her colorful, yet delicately drawn design. The array of offers touts candy bars that cause weight loss, "Vitamins That Make You Smarter," and culminates with an order form to send $25 million to Madoff Industries -- a timely, painful reminder of the millions lost by clients of Ponzi-scheme-perpetrator Bernard Madoff. Chast combines an engaging style with sly, often sharp and offbeat humor in her work that has won her wide popularity and critical acclaim. She had her first cartoon published in 1978 in the New Yorker, which has since published more than 1,000 of her drawings.
50. LOCSWN_111010_405.JPG: "Affettuoso (with Feeling)" In this lively drawing titled Discord, the British satirist Thomas Rowlandson portrays the singer as a "type" whose exaggerated features -- wide open mouth, head thrown back, closed eyes, and mannered posture, parody the composer's instruction noted on the music, "affettuoso," which means "with feeling." This example is one of three drawings by Rowlandson in the Prints and Photographs Division; its outstanding collection of British satirical prints also includes more than sixty etchings or engravings designed by this masterful caricaturist, watercolorist, and social observer.
51. LOCSWN_111010_413.JPG: Breach in Etiquette Arnold Roth depicts a riveting, amusing moment of breached etiquette during the 1970s lettuce boycott. With brilliant control of watercolor and delicate ink lines that recall drawings by such past masters as Thomas Rowlandson, Roth shows an outraged guest leaping over a dinner table to thrust a forkful of lettuce into his hostess's face. Widely recognized as a highly versatile, award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, Roth practices his art with a flair and inventiveness that have made him popular in both the United States and England. His drawings often appear in leading American periodicals, as well as in the British magazine Punch before it ceased publication in 2002.
52. LOCSWN_111010_421.JPG: Spirit of the Jazz Age John Held, Jr., evolved his signature style of thin-lined drawing and vibrant color to fashion definitive Jazz Age images such as this flapper, flanked by a trombonist and a saxophonist. Her slim, stylish figure and active silhouette typify the pleasure-seeking, revolutionary American beauty of the 1920s. Held's drawings graced the pages and covers of McClure's, Judge, Life, and the New Yorker. He also created costume and set designs for musical productions, illustrated books, and comic strips including Oh! Margy, Joe Prep, and Rah Rah Rosalie.
53. LOCSWN_111010_428.JPG: With Timely Wit Two archaeologists enter a cave to discover splendidly painted beasts on walls that curiously spiral upward. Charles Addams's cartoon of a cavern brings to mind the interior of the Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) that had opened in October 1959, less than a year before publication of the cartoon. This drawing demonstrates Addams's special gift for connecting disparate visual ideas. Best known for creating the popular, macabre Addams Family cartoon characters in 1946, Addams produced more than 1,300 cartoons published mainly in the New Yorker during his life.
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