On Display: The Art of the Editorial Cartoon

Cartoon by Paige Braddock (“These seats are so wide!” “Yeah… It’ll be obvious, you know, if any of us decide to sit close…” “Obvious?” “Yeah, you know, four girls… two couples… Obvious…” “You said we’re a couple… I think that’s the first time…”) — Cartoon by Paige Braddock (Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee Libraries)

Editorial cartoons from the UT Libraries’ special collections are currently on display in Hodges Library.

The Art of the Editorial Cartoon spotlights the work of Paige Braddock, Charlie Daniel, and Ed Gamble. Three exhibit cases showcase their hand-drawn, original cartoons. The Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives holds extensive archives of their editorial illustrations.

Paige Braddock is best known for her Eisner-nominated comic strip Jane’s World, which follows Jane, a thirty-something lesbian and her circle of friends who try, and fail comedically, to navigate life.

Charlie Daniel delighted Knoxvillians with his editorial cartoons for 60 years — first at the Knoxville Journal and later at the Knoxville News Sentinel, retiring in 2019 at age 89.

Ed Gamble is a nationally syndicated political cartoonist whose work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. His cartoons are permanently displayed in many presidential museums.

Cartoon by Charlie Daniel (Nixon drawing: “Hey!! Watch it, cartoonist… You’re overstating my nose!!”) — Cartoon by Charlie Daniel (UT Special Collections)

Cartoon by Ed Gamble (Lunar creatures upon report that NASA is ending trips to the moon: “Hey, guys, we can end the lookout! They won’t be back!”) — Cartoon by Ed Gamble. (UT Special Collections)

Illustration by Danny Wilson (Motocyclist leads the way out of the wildfires.) — Illustration by Danny Wilson (UT Special Collections)

The Art of the Editorial Cartoon also features illustrations commemorating the tragic Chimney Tops 2 wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains in 2016. Editorial cartoonists Paige Braddock, Marshall Ramsey, and Danny Wilson created these drawings as part of a community project that sought to promote healing from the devastating impact of the wildfires. The art they created in response to interviews with those impacted by the wildfires is available online as Rising from the Ashes: The Chimney Tops 2 Wildfires in Memory and Art.

UT Libraries also hosts online digital collections of work by two other featured cartoonists: the Charlie Daniel Editorial Cartoon Collection and the Ed Gamble Cartoon Collection.

Why would a university library collect and preserve editorial cartoons? Such primary sources create a historical record of our time — precisely what makes archives and special collections invaluable to researchers. After all, editorial cartoons are essentially snapshots of the social and political issues of our day.

The display in the Elaine Altman Evans Exhibit Area, on the first floor of the John C. Hodges Library, is free and open to the public. The Art of the Editorial Cartoon will remain on display throughout the fall semester.

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