The Cartoon Museum

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Cartoon Museum
Cartoon museum logo.jpg
The Cartoon Museum
Open street map central london.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Central London
Established2006;18 years ago (2006)
Reopened 1 July 2019
Location63 Wells St
London, W1A 3AE
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°31′4″N0°8′20″W / 51.51778°N 0.13889°W / 51.51778; -0.13889
Typethe art of comics and cartoons
Collection size4,000 plus original cartoons and prints
DirectorJoe Sullivan
CuratorEmma Stirling-Middleton
Public transit access Underground no-text.svg Oxford Circus
Website www.cartoonmuseum.org

The Cartoon Museum is a London museum for British cartoons, caricatures and comic strips, owned and operated by the Cartoon Art Trust (Registered Charity 327 978). It has a library of over 5,000 books and 4,000 comics. The museum issues catalogues and features a changing display of over 250 exhibits from its collection of over 4,000 original cartoons and prints. The museum is "dedicated to preserving the best of British cartoons, caricatures, comics and animation, and to establishing a museum with a gallery, archives and innovative exhibitions to make the creativity of cartoon art past and present, accessible to all for the purposes of education, research and enjoyment.". [1]

Contents

History

Origins

As early as 1949 the cartoonist H. M. Bateman had called for the founding of a national museum of cartoons. [2] The Cartoon Art Trust was formed in 1988 by a group of cartoonists and collectors, including the cartoonist Mel Calman, whose aim was to found a museum dedicated to "collecting, exhibiting, promoting and preserving the best of British cartoon art". [3]

Little Russell Street location (2006–2018)

The main exhibition area in 2014, Little Russell Street location Cartoon Museum area.jpg
The main exhibition area in 2014, Little Russell Street location
The first-floor exhibition area, Little Russell Street Cartoon Museum 1st floor.jpg
The first-floor exhibition area, Little Russell Street

The Cartoon Museum first opened its doors on 23 February 2006 in Little Russell St, Fitzrovia, in Central London, following a £750,000 fundraising campaign led by cartoonist and Cartoon Art Trust chairman Oliver Preston. [4] The museum was opened by The Duke of Edinburgh, who was patron of the Cartoon Art Trust for over 20 years, and had himself attended Bateman's talk at the Royal College of Art in 1949. [2] The Duke "saw humour in everything". [5] Director/Curator Anita O'Brien noted: "There has never been a cartoon museum [in Britain]... In spite of the very strong historical tradition here, there has always been a very strong ambivalence towards comic art." [6] CAT Chairman Oliver Preston stated that "Cartoons are art ...[but] they have never been treated as art and it's about time these cartoonists had a home where people could see their work". [4]

The Cartoon Museum hosted many exhibitions of cartoon art, including in 2014 a 30th-anniversary celebration of the TV satire Spitting Image . [7] The museum attracted 26,000 visitors a year [8] but closed its doors at Little Russell Street in late 2018, forced out by a substantial rent increase. [8]

Wells Street location (from 2019)

Following a £1m fundraising campaign led by cartoonist and Cartoon Art Trust chairman Oliver Preston, [9] the Cartoon Museum reopened in new, larger premises at 63 Wells Street, north of Oxford Street, on 1 July 2019, on a long-term lease in a new development with a peppercorn rent. [8] The space was designed by Sam Jacob Studio. [10] One of the first exhibitions was titled "Comic Creators: The Famous and the Forgotten", featuring classic cartoons such as Billy Bunter, Jonah, Desperate Dan, Dennis the Menace and Judge Dredd. [8]

The new premises also includes a learning studio and a shop. [8] The main exhibition gallery, which tells the story of the history of cartoons with examples selected from the museum collection, was curated by cartoonist Steve Bell, [8] and includes "the best of British cartoon art". [11] The collection spans 300 years of cartoons, beginning with the Georgian "Golden Age of Caricature", [12] including James Gillray and George Cruikshank. [13] In the early Eighteenth century British travellers to Europe on the Grand Tour brought back Italian caricatura, introducing polite society to the new art form. [11]

The collection also includes work by wartime cartoonists such as David Low's All Behind You, [14] and modern satirists such as Gerald Scarfe and Ralph Steadman. [11]

In January 2020 a new museum director, Joe Sullivan, and a new curator, Emma Stirling-Middleton, were appointed. [9] In 2020 The Cartoon Museum received a grant of £98,700 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. [15]

In June 2021 the museum re-opened after the COVID-19 lockdown with an exhibition of the art of V for Vendetta titled "Behind the Mask". [16] In September 2021 The Cartoon Museum exhibited "Hidden Treasures", three previously unknown works by Ralph Steadman. [17] In 2021 the Cartoon Museum was "highly commended" by the Museums and Heritage Awards for "Fundraisers of the Year". [18] In November 2021 the museum opened "The Laughter Lab", an exhibition dedicated to exploring the science behind laughter, in association with evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar. [19]

Exhibitions

Cartoon Museum Interior, 2019 Cartoon Museum Interior.jpg
Cartoon Museum Interior, 2019

Previous exhibitions have included Ronald Searle, Pont, Fougasse, Rowland Emett, The Beano and The Dandy , Mike Williams, Mel Calman, cartoons from private London clubs, Viz , Alice in Sunderland (Bryan Talbot), Robert Dighton, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Spitting Image .[ citation needed ]

Exhibitions feature catalogues, such as Ronald Searle: Graphic Master, which includes essays on Searle's work. Leading cartoonists and filmmakers have produced artworks in homage to Searle and written pieces, including Steve Bell, Roger Law, Mike Leigh, Uli Meyer, Arnold Roth, Martin Rowson, Gerald Scarfe, Posy Simmonds and Ralph Steadman. [ citation needed ] In September 2023 the Cartoon Museum will host an exhibition celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Aardman Animation's short film The Wrong Trousers. [20]

Education

The museum runs a learning programme for primary and secondary schools in a range of subjects, including art, media, history, English and animation. With workshops for children during half-term and holidays, it also features adult courses in cartooning and graphic novels. [21] [11]

Awards

Every year the trustees of the Cartoon Art Trust host the Cartoon Art Trust Awards, giving a number of awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award to an artist who has made a significant contribution to British cartooning. Past winners have included Ronald Searle, David Levine, Trog, Fluck and Law, Norman Thelwell, Frank Dickens, David Langdon, Gerald Scarfe, Leo Baxendale and Bill Tidy. The CAT also give the "Pont Award" to a cartoonist whose drawings reflect "The British Character". Past winners include Norman Thelwell, "Mac", Michael Heath, Sue McCartney-Snape and Tony Husband. The Museum also hosts the Young Cartoonist of the Year Award which receives around 1,000 submissions every year. [22]

Location

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon</span> Type of two-dimensional visual art

A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoonist</span> Visual artist who makes cartoons

A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons or comics. Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary and graphic components of the work as part of their practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political cartoon</span> Illustration used to comment on current events and personalities

A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to either question authority or draw attention to corruption, political violence and other social ills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Scarfe</span> English cartoonist, illustrator, animator (born 1936)

Gerald Anthony Scarfe is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for The Sunday Times and illustrator for The New Yorker.

Norman Thelwell was an English cartoonist well known for his humorous illustrations of ponies and horses. He was also active as a comic artist, drawing the series Penelope and Kipper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Fawkes</span> Canadian-British cartoonist and clarinettist (1924–2023)

Walter Ernest Fawkes, also known as Trog when signing cartoons, was a Canadian-British jazz clarinettist and satirical cartoonist.

Notable events of 2006 in comics.

Steve McGarry is a British cartoonist whose work includes the comic strips Badlands, Pop Culture / Biographic, Trivquiz, KidTown, and Mullets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Shankar Pillai</span> Indian cartoonist

Kesava Shankar Pillai, better known as Shankar, was an Indian cartoonist. He is considered the father of political cartooning in India. He founded Shankar's Weekly, India's Punch in 1948. Shankar's Weekly also produced cartoonists like Abu Abraham, Ranga and Kutty, he closed down the magazine during the Emergency of 25 June 1975. From then on he turned to making children laugh and enjoy life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain</span>

The Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain (CCGB) is an organisation open to all United Kingdom cartoonists. Established in 1960 by a group of Fleet Street cartoonists, including the cartoonist Sally Artz, the club claims to be one of the largest cartoonists' organisations in the world, with a membership of over 200 full- and part-time cartoonists both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

The Scottish Cartoon Art Studio is a commercial art studio based in Glasgow, Scotland, made up of a group of professional cartoonists working on a collaborative basis. In this respect the Studio is unique in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum</span> Cartoon museum located on the Ohio State University campus

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a research library of American cartoons and comic art affiliated with the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as the Cartoon Research Library and the Cartoon Library & Museum, it holds the world's largest and most comprehensive academic research facility documenting and displaying original and printed comic strips, editorial cartoons, and cartoon art. The museum is named after the Ohio cartoonist Billy Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Cartoonists</span>

The Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC) is an organisation based in Bangalore that serves to promote and preserve cartooning and cartoonists in India. Founded in 2001, the institute hosts the Indian Cartoon Gallery with rotating exhibits focusing on different artists. It has organised more than one hundred exhibitions of cartoons.

Oliver Preston is a British cartoonist, publisher, and chairman and co-founder of The Cartoon Museum in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Art Trust Awards</span>

The Cartoon Art Trust Award or CAT Awards are presented in an annual award ceremony hosted by the Cartoon Art Trust (CAT), owners and operators of the Cartoon Museum, to honour the year's best cartoonists. The 21st Cartoon Art Trust Awards were held on 12 October 2017 at the Mall Galleries in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st CAT Awards</span>

The 21st Cartoon Art Trust Awards, hosted by the Cartoon Art Trust, owners and operators of the Cartoon Museum, were held on 12 October 2017 at the Mall Galleries in London, honouring the best cartoons of 2017. The award ceremony was hosted by cartoonist and museum chairman Oliver Preston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th CAT Awards</span>

The 17th Cartoon Art Trust Awards, hosted by the Cartoon Art Trust, owners and operators of the Cartoon Museum, were held in October 2013 at the Mall Galleries in London, honouring the best cartoons of 2013. The award ceremony was hosted by cartoonist and museum chairman Oliver Preston.

The British Cartoonists' Association is an association of British Cartoonists. The BCA awards the annual Young Cartoonist of the Year Award which is presented at the annual Cartoon Art Trust Awards, hosted by the Cartoon Art Trust at the Cartoon Museum in London, England. The Chair is the cartoonist Nicola Jennings and the secretary is the cartoonist Kasia Kowalska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Cartoonist of the Year Award</span>

The Young Cartoonist of the Year Award is an annual award given by the Cartoon Museum in London in association with the British Cartoonists' Association to the best young cartoonist, in the category of Under 18 and Under 30.

The Cartoon Art Trust is a charity founded in 1989 in the United Kingdom, which acts as the owner and operator of the London Cartoon Museum, and also runs the Cartoon Art Trust Awards. Its chairman is the cartoonist Oliver Preston.

References

  1. ↑ "About Us: Mission" . Retrieved 11 March 2006.
  2. 1 2 The Guardian, 10 April 2021 Retrieved 25 August 2021
  3. ↑ History of the Cartoon Museum Retrieved 28 August 2021
  4. 1 2 BBC news 22 February 2006 Retrieved 28 August 2021
  5. ↑ ITV News 14 April 2021 Retrieved 27 August 2021
  6. ↑ News24 "Cartoon museum opens"
  7. ↑ "Thirtieth anniversary of Spitting Image celebrated at Cartoon Museum". The Guardian . 25 February 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 correspondent, Mark Brown Arts (1 July 2019). "London's Cartoon Museum reopens with a fresh look at comic art". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  9. 1 2 museumsandheritage.com Retrieved 25 Aug 2021
  10. ↑ architectsjournal.co.uk 18 July 2019 Retrieved 27 August 2021
  11. 1 2 3 4 Time Out 1 October 2019 Retrieved 28 August 2021
  12. ↑ Evening Standard, Illustration in London Retrieved 27 August 2021
  13. ↑ www.wallpaper.com Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ↑ BBC News 28 October 2014 Retrieved 1 September 2021
  15. ↑ The Guardian 30 December 2020 Retrieved 26 August 2021
  16. ↑ Fitzrovia News 14 June 2021 Retrieved 15 September 2021
  17. ↑ Cartoon Museum at bleedingcool.com Retrieved 7 September 2021
  18. ↑ museumsandheritage.com Retrieved 30 September 2021
  19. ↑ Laughter Lab at newscientist.com Retrieved 9 December 2021
  20. ↑ Wallace and Gromit Turn 30 at The Guardian, 21 August 2023 Retrieved 7 September 2023
  21. ↑ Kennedy, Maev (20 February 2006). "London cartoon museum opens". The Guardian.
  22. ↑ Nick Newman, The Spectator, 25 July 2020 Retrieved 27 August 2021
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