From the antics of Fat Cat Garfield to the cracker-barrel philosophy of Brown County savant Abe Martin, the many creations of Hoosier cartoonists are highlighted in the Indiana Historical Society’s traveling exhibition, “Indiana Cartoons and Cartoonists” running from now until September 9th at the La Porte County Historical Society Museum.
Thanks to their work on the comic and editorial pages, Indiana artists have entertained and informed (with syndication) millions of newspaper readers across the country. The exhibit explores amusing goings-on of characters from comic strips like “Chic” Jackson’s “Roger Bean” which featured the lives of a typical Hoosier family, to the editorial musings of Pulitzer Prize-winning artist John T. McCutcheon, who was a fierce opponent of America’s entry into WWII.
The exhibition also examines the life and work of such Indiana cartoonists as “the dean of America’s editorial cartoonists” Evansville’s Karl Kae Knecht; artists from the Crawfordsville area known as the Sugar Crick School of Art; the first black political cartoonist, Henry Jackson Lewis, who worked for the Indianapolis Freeman; and Muncie’s Jim Davis, responsible for bringing Garfield to life.
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating the state’s history. The La Porte County Historical Society does the same on the local level.
The La Porte County Historical Society Museum is located at 2405 Indiana Ave. in La Porte and is accessible to those with disabilities. Call us at 219-324-6767 for more information, or visit our website at www.laportecountyhistory.org and click on our FaceBook page.
