NEWS from the LIBRARY of CONGRESS
March 15, 2018
Media Contacts: Brett Zongker, Library of Congress, (202) 707-1639, bzongker@loc.gov
Courtney McCreary, University Press of Mississippi, cmccreary@mississippi.edu
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New Book Reveals Artistic Achievements of Women in Illustration
'Drawn to Purpose' Features 80 Artists including Roz Chast, Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel,
Lynn Johnston, Jillian Tamaki and More
A new book presents a survey of the often-neglected artistic achievements of women in cartooning and illustration, featuring more than 250 color illustrations, comic strips and political cartoons, including original art from the collections of the Library of Congress. In "Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists," Martha H. Kennedy, curator of popular and applied graphic art, presents a comprehensive look at the trailblazing artists whose work was long overlooked in the male-dominated field from the late 19th century into the 21st century.
"Drawn to Purpose" was published in March 2018 by University Press of Mississippi in association with the Library of Congress. It is the first overarching survey of these art forms by women in the Library's collection. The book accompanies the Library's exhibition "Drawn to Purpose" featuring original works by women cartoonists and illustrators.
"'Drawn to Purpose' brings together a remarkable sampling of book illustrations, posters, industrial design, courtroom sketches, comic strips, political cartoons and art for magazines and newspapers produced by women over a 150-year span," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden wrote in the forward for the book. "As a kid who read everything, I pored over the illustrations just as much as the accompanying words. Images can make reading more meaningful and more memorable."
In 1915, portrait painter Cecelia Beaux predicted it would be at least 1,000 years before the term "women in art" would sound as strange as the term "men in art." Indeed, Kennedy's book tracks the incremental progress and societal pressures that kept all but the most resilient women from advancing in the arts. It's also a story of women artists who were moved by their creative drive, by commerce or by necessity to create art that fulfills a purpose.
Celebrated artists and works featured in the book and exhibition include New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, Lynn Johnston's comic strip "For Better or For Worse," innovative artists including Lynda Barry and Hilary Price, those who broke barriers of race or sexual orientation to become voices for underrepresented communities including Barbara Brandon-Croft and Alison Bechdel, and rising stars such as Jillian Tamaki.
The book explores several themes and artistic platforms: The Golden Age of Illustration, Early Cartoonists, New Voices and New Narratives in Comics, Illustrations for Industry, Editorial Illustrators, Magazine Covers and Cartoons, and Political Cartoonists and Caricaturists.
"Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists," a 238-page hardcover book with more than 250 illustrations, is available for $50 in the Library of Congress Shop, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C., and through retailers. Credit card orders are taken at (888) 682-3557 or loc.gov/shop/.
The book was made possible by support from the Alfred Bendiner Foundation, and the exhibition was made possible by support from the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon.
The Library of Congress is the world's largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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PR 18-029
03/15/18
ISSN 0731-3527
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WASHINGTON, DC, Monday, March 05, 2018 – Ward Sutton has been named the winner of the 2018 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning.
Ward Sutton has been creating biting editorial cartoons for The Boston Globe since 2008. He experiments with size and format, often producing multi-panel cartoons that can read like a graphic novel. In 2010, his full-page “Tea Party Comics” won a gold medal from the Society of Publication Designers.
Sutton has also created cartoons for The New Yorker, The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Nib, In These Times, GQ, The Nation, Time, TV Guide, Rolling Stone, Fusion, MAD Magazine, and many more.
Sutton Impact: The Political Cartoons of Ward Sutton was published in 2005.
Stephen Colbert has said: “Ward Sutton’s satire doesn’t just bite, it maims. He’s the perfect cartoonist for our discordant times.’’
Alarmed by the incoming Trump administration, Sutton drew a “RESIST” poster image and distributed it for free online in 2017. It was downloaded, printed, carried in marches all over the world, and later chosen by American Illustration in its annual competition.
Since 2006, Sutton has semi-secretly been the man behind Stan Kelly, the (fake) editorial cartoonist for the satirical weekly The Onion. His book, Kelly: The Cartoonist America Turns To (TM) was published in 2016.
In addition to cartooning, Sutton has created posters for Broadway, the Sundance Film Festival, and musicians such as Beck, Radiohead, Phish, and Pearl Jam. He has designed, directed and/or produced animation for HBO, Noggin and Comedy Central. His work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, The Society of Publication Designers, The Society for News Design, The Minnesota Page One Awards and The Art Directors Club.
Born in Minnesota, Sutton got his start cartooning for the Edina Sun community newspaper when he was in middle school. He continued at Edina High School’s Zephyrus and St. Olaf College’s Manitou Messenger before launching his first professional political strip, “Ward’s Cleaver,” in the Minneapolis alt-weekly, The Twin Cities Reader. Since then, he has lived in Seattle, New York City, and Costa Rica before finding his current home with his family in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Herblock Prize is awarded annually by The Herb Block Foundation for “distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous independent standard set by Herblock.” The winner receives a $15,000 after-tax cash prize and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy. Ward Sutton will receive the Prize on May 9th in a ceremony held at the Library of Congress. Scott Simon, Peabody Award-winning correspondent and host of Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR, will deliver the annual Herblock Lecture at the awards ceremony.
Judges for this year’s contest were Ruben Bolling, author of the weekly comic strip “Tom the Dancing Bug” and winner of the 2017 Herblock Prize; Jenny Robb, Curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University; and Ann Telnaes, editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post and first woman to have received both the Reuben Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.
The judges said “We were greatly impressed by the quality and breadth of submissions, with so much outstanding work being done in all types of political cartooning. But we felt that Ward Sutton's combination of strong artwork and sharp satirical writing stood out. Ward's art style has an appealing comic book look that includes a mastery of caricature within that context. He juxtaposes these attractive drawings with strong, urgent writing, setting up creative premises and wringing out of them cutting humor and provocative commentary that rise to the historical importance of today's issues.”
Steve Brodner, a satirical illustrator who has covered nine national political conventions for Esquire, The Progressive, The Village Voice and others, was named this year’s finalist and will receive a $5,000 after-tax cash prize. The judges said “Strong caricatures in editorial cartoons convey vital information to the reader about the character and motivation of a political figure. Steve Brodner's superior draftsmanship and effective use of caricature in his editorial commentary was well-represented in his portfolio and is exemplary of the high quality artwork of Herb Block and other legendary cartoonists.”
The Herb Block Foundation seeks to further the recognition and support of editorial cartooning: www.HerbblockFoundation.org.
Ward Sutton has been creating biting editorial cartoons for The Boston Globe since 2008. He experiments with size and format, often producing multi-panel cartoons that can read like a graphic novel. In 2010, his full-page “Tea Party Comics” won a gold medal from the Society of Publication Designers.
Sutton has also created cartoons for The New Yorker, The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Nib, In These Times, GQ, The Nation, Time, TV Guide, Rolling Stone, Fusion, MAD Magazine, and many more.
Sutton Impact: The Political Cartoons of Ward Sutton was published in 2005.
Stephen Colbert has said: “Ward Sutton’s satire doesn’t just bite, it maims. He’s the perfect cartoonist for our discordant times.’’
Alarmed by the incoming Trump administration, Sutton drew a “RESIST” poster image and distributed it for free online in 2017. It was downloaded, printed, carried in marches all over the world, and later chosen by American Illustration in its annual competition.
Since 2006, Sutton has semi-secretly been the man behind Stan Kelly, the (fake) editorial cartoonist for the satirical weekly The Onion. His book, Kelly: The Cartoonist America Turns To (TM) was published in 2016.
In addition to cartooning, Sutton has created posters for Broadway, the Sundance Film Festival, and musicians such as Beck, Radiohead, Phish, and Pearl Jam. He has designed, directed and/or produced animation for HBO, Noggin and Comedy Central. His work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, The Society of Publication Designers, The Society for News Design, The Minnesota Page One Awards and The Art Directors Club.
Born in Minnesota, Sutton got his start cartooning for the Edina Sun community newspaper when he was in middle school. He continued at Edina High School’s Zephyrus and St. Olaf College’s Manitou Messenger before launching his first professional political strip, “Ward’s Cleaver,” in the Minneapolis alt-weekly, The Twin Cities Reader. Since then, he has lived in Seattle, New York City, and Costa Rica before finding his current home with his family in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Herblock Prize is awarded annually by The Herb Block Foundation for “distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous independent standard set by Herblock.” The winner receives a $15,000 after-tax cash prize and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy. Ward Sutton will receive the Prize on May 9th in a ceremony held at the Library of Congress. Scott Simon, Peabody Award-winning correspondent and host of Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR, will deliver the annual Herblock Lecture at the awards ceremony.
Judges for this year’s contest were Ruben Bolling, author of the weekly comic strip “Tom the Dancing Bug” and winner of the 2017 Herblock Prize; Jenny Robb, Curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University; and Ann Telnaes, editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post and first woman to have received both the Reuben Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.
The judges said “We were greatly impressed by the quality and breadth of submissions, with so much outstanding work being done in all types of political cartooning. But we felt that Ward Sutton's combination of strong artwork and sharp satirical writing stood out. Ward's art style has an appealing comic book look that includes a mastery of caricature within that context. He juxtaposes these attractive drawings with strong, urgent writing, setting up creative premises and wringing out of them cutting humor and provocative commentary that rise to the historical importance of today's issues.”
Steve Brodner, a satirical illustrator who has covered nine national political conventions for Esquire, The Progressive, The Village Voice and others, was named this year’s finalist and will receive a $5,000 after-tax cash prize. The judges said “Strong caricatures in editorial cartoons convey vital information to the reader about the character and motivation of a political figure. Steve Brodner's superior draftsmanship and effective use of caricature in his editorial commentary was well-represented in his portfolio and is exemplary of the high quality artwork of Herb Block and other legendary cartoonists.”
The Herb Block Foundation seeks to further the recognition and support of editorial cartooning: www.HerbblockFoundation.org.
