Showing posts with label Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Friday, September 18, 2009

Ohio State Names Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in Honor of $7 Million Gift

Here's a PR from OSU, and the Schulz Challenge to match funds is still going strong.

Ohio State Names Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in Honor of $7 Million Gift

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today approved the naming of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in recognition of a $7 million gift from the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation to support the renovation of Sullivant Hall, an historic building located at a main gateway to the university’s campus.
The project is estimated to cost $20.6 million and will be completed in 2013, at which time Sullivant Hall will house both the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and The Ohio State University Department of Dance.

“The Graves Foundation has made a critical investment to enhance the learning environment for students, faculty, and visitors from around the world,” said President E. Gordon Gee. “The revitalized Sullivant Hall will be a fitting home to two university treasures – the top-ranked Department of Dance and the world-renowned Cartoon Library and Museum. Naming the latter in Billy Ireland’s honor is a fitting tribute to a remarkable Ohioan.”

The Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation is managed by Billy Ireland's granddaughter, Sayre Graves, and is based out of Bremo Bluff, Va..

The Columbus Dispatch hired Ireland, a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, shortly after his high school graduation in 1898. A self-taught cartoonist, he worked for the Dispatch until his death in 1935 and was known both for his editorial cartoons and for his Sunday feature The Passing Show.

An exhibition of Ireland’s work will be held at Ohio State in the fall 2010.

“Billy Ireland was a Columbus celebrity during his lifetime,” according to Lucy Shelton Caswell, the cartoon library and museum's founding curator. “He enjoyed a national reputation and his work is still delightful to read. This is a fitting honor for a great cartoonist. We look forward to sharing his work with a new generation of readers.”

Established in 1977 with a founding gift of the Milton Caniff Collection, the Cartoon Library and Museum was housed in two converted classrooms in the Ohio State's Journalism Building. Since then, Caswell has built it into a widely renowned collection that is a destination for both cartoon researchers and fans from around the world.

Thousands of donors have contributed to the collection, with gifts ranging from one item to tens of thousands. With the recent addition of the IMCA’s extensive permanent collection, the Cartoon Library and Museum now houses more than 400,000 works of original cartoon art, 35,000 books, 51,000 serial titles, 2,800 linear feet of manuscript materials, and 2.5 million comic strip clippings and newspaper pages.
Now the world's largest collection of cartoon art and comics, the Cartoon Library and Museum is currently located in the basement of the Wexner Center for the Arts http://cartoons.osu.edu/. Its new, permanent home in Sullivant Hall will expand its space from its current 6,808 square feet to more than 40,000 gross square feet of space storage and exhibit space allowing more of the collection to be displayed and accessible to the public.

Sullivant Hall also will provide greatly enhanced facilities for Ohio State’s top-ranked dance program, including state-of-the-art dance facilities, upgraded administrative offices, and an upgrade of the existing auditorium.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Ohio State's Cartoon collection - Matching the Schulz Challenge

Associate Curator Jenny Robb put this info in a comment, but let's copy it here so more people see it:

Thanks for asking how to contribute to the Schulz Challenge. People can donate online with a credit card at: https://www.giveto.osu.edu/igive/onlinegiving/search_results.aspx?fundnum=313023 or send a check to the The Ohio State University Cartoon Library and Museum, 27 W. 17th Avenue Mall, Columbus OH 43210-1393. Please indicate “Schulz Challenge” on the check.

Remember, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar by Jean Schulz.

Thanks for your support of this exciting project!
Jenny Robb
Associate Curator

Monday, April 27, 2009

Schulz money given to OSU Cartoon Library and Museum

Good news here, as I work my way back through email - so Jenny and Lucy, how're you soliciting donations?

Jean Schulz, Widow of Peanuts Creator Charles M. Schulz,
Gives $1 Million to Cartoon Library & Museum Move
Promises to match an additional $2.5 million in a “challenge” to others

April 23, 2009

Columbus, OH — The Ohio State University received a gift of $1 million from Jean Schulz, the widow of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz to support the renovation of Sullivant Hall, the future home of the world’s most comprehensive academic research facility dedicated to documenting printed cartoon art.

Along with her generous gift, Mrs. Schulz issued a challenge: She will provide an additional matching gift of $2.5 million if Ohio State raises the same amount from other sources, making the total impact of her gift $6 million.

"By helping to underwrite a state-of-the-art facility for the University's renowned Cartoon Library and Museum, Jean Schulz advances the work of students, faculty, and scholars and deepens our understanding of the importance of the genre," said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. "Her gift is an especially fitting way to honor the remarkable creative legacy of her late husband, Charles."

Located at a highly visible location along High Street and adjacent to the Wexner Center for the Arts, the historic Sullivant Hall is in dire need of repair. The planned renovation will provide 40,000 gross square feet of space for the new Cartoon Library and Museum that will include a spacious reading room for researchers, three museum-quality galleries, and expanded storage with state-of-the-art environmental and security controls. A dedicated ground-level entry will allow for easy access to the new facility. The addition of exhibition galleries dedicated to cartoon art will facilitate public display of the Library's extraordinary collection.

When asked what inspired her to give to The Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State, Jean Schulz said, “Lucy Caswell has done a marvelous job in collecting and preserving works in the cartoon medium. I was pleased at the opportunity to help provide a fitting home for this important collection and to recognize her contribution in the field.”

The Sullivant renovation will also provide new spaces for the Department of Dance and the Music/Dance Library, and an upgraded auditorium, which will be used for numerous community, academic, and performance purposes.

Total renovation cost is estimated at $20.6 million, with architectural design to take 12 months, followed by 6 months for bidding and contracts and 24 months for construction.

Due to its outstanding reputation, growing collection and a surge of scholarly interest in comics and cartoons, the Cartoon Library and Museum — formerly known as the Cartoon Research Library — is a destination location for researchers from around the world.

With a founding gift of the Milton Caniff Collection, Ohio State’s Cartoon Library and Museum was established in 1977 in two converted classrooms in the university’s Journalism Building. From this small beginning, founding curator Lucy Shelton Caswell has spent more than 30 years building the Library into the widely renowned facility it is today.

The Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State is one of the most admired and sought-after caretakers of legacy collections. Thousands of donors have contributed to the collection, with gifts ranging from one item to tens of thousands. In 1992, the Robert Roy Metz Collection of 83,034 original cartoons by 113 cartoonists was donated by United Media, and in 2007, the entire collection of the International Museum of Cartoon Art (IMCA), numbering more than 200,000 originals, was transferred to the Cartoon Library and Museum.

With the addition of the IMCA’s extensive permanent collection, the Cartoon Library and Museum now houses more than 400,000 works of original cartoon and comics art, 35,000 books, 51,000 serial titles, 2,800 linear feet of manuscript materials, and 2.5 million comic strip clippings and newspaper pages. Moving into its new home from its current location, a 6,800-square-foot basement north of Mershon Auditorium, will allow more of the Collection to be displayed and readily accessible.

“We are very grateful to Jean Schulz for her generous gift, and for her challenge which will encourage everyone who cares about cartoon art to become involved in our project,” said Lucy Shelton Caswell. “The new Cartoon Museum and Library will be a place of learning and enjoyment for the public and scholars alike.”
###

Contact: Jane Carroll, Public Relations Manager
Development Communications, The Ohio State University
(614) 292-2550 or carroll.296@osu.edu

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

International Museum of Cartoon Art (IMCA) Moving to Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library

Here's a press release from OSU Cartoon Research Librarian Jenny Robb with interesting news. I covered the closing of the IMCA in Florida for the Comics Journal and more recently had heard hints from Brian Walker that something like this might happen, so I'm glad it's come to fruition. OSU takes good care of their massive collections, but they'll be expanding their mission with the IMCA's three-dimensional artifacts. I hope that OSU will be able to provide space for regular exhibits beyond their reference room -- Mike

The collection of the International Museum of Cartoon Art (IMCA) is moving to The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library. The union of these two institutions will create the largest collection of original cartoon art in the world.

IMCA was established in 1973 by Mort Walker, the creative force behind Beetle Bailey, as the first museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting cartoons. The museum opened in 1974 in a converted mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Two years later, the museum relocated to a renovated castle in Rye Brook, New York, where the collection was displayed until 1992. At that time the city of Boca Raton, Florida invited the museum to construct a 52,000 square foot facility as part of an effort to attract cultural institutions to Palm Beach County. The museum was a very popular attraction with highly acclaimed exhibits, events, and functions for the public. It was still paying off the cost of its construction when two of its financial backers went bankrupt creating a $5 million loss and causing the museum to close.

IMCA's collection consists of approximately 200,000 works, including original drawings from all genres of cartoon art (comic strips, comic books, animation, editorial, advertising, sport, caricature, greeting cards, graphic novels, and illustrations), display figures, toys and collectibles, and works on film and tape, CDs, and DVDs.

Lucy Shelton Caswell, professor and curator of the Cartoon Research Library, said, "We are honored that the IMCA's board has placed its treasures in our care." Efforts are underway to provide increased space for the Cartoon Research Library that will include museum-quality galleries. "It is critical that we have state-of-the-art gallery space to display IMCA's collection appropriately," notes Caswell. A gallery in the new facility will be named in honor of IMCA founder Mort Walker.

Joe Branin, Director of The Ohio State University Libraries, issued the following statement: "Special Collections, original manuscripts, photographs, and other rare or unique items so necessary for scholarship, are one of the critical identifiers of any research library. Universities point to their special collections as distinctive points of pride, those things that make their libraries unique. In receiving the collection of the International Museum of Cartoon Art, the Cartoon Research Library has substantially enhanced its standing as one of the premier research libraries. We are excited to make this outstanding collection available for scholarly study and for general appreciation in exhibits and other public programs."

Contact the Cartoon Research Library for an image to accompany this release.

About the Cartoon Research Library: The Cartoon Research Library's primary mission is to develop a comprehensive research collection of materials documenting American printed cartoon art (editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, sports cartoons, and magazine cartoons) and to provide access to these collections. The library is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. See http://cartoons.osu.edu/ for further information.