John Churchill Chase

John Churchill Chase (1905–1986) was a cartoonist and writer. He was known for his editorial cartoons and his works on the history of his native New Orleans and Louisiana in the United States.

Career

After high school in New Orleans, Chase attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He worked as assistant cartoonist to Frank King at the ''Chicago Tribune'' on the popular comic strip ''Gasoline Alley'' and other cartoons, before returning to New Orleans in 1927 to become editorial cartoonist for the '' New Orleans Item''. He would continue this role through 1964, by which time the newspaper had become ''The States-Item''. Chase's chief character in his cartoons was "Mr. New Orleans" or "The Little Man", who was typically dressed in a 19th-century long coat with a top hat, bushy moustache and glasses.

He is the author of the book ''Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children and Other Streets of New Orleans''. This book went through several popular editions from the 1960s through 1997, and has gone on to be widely acclaimed as a great chronicling of the history of New Orleans through the naming of its streets.

Chase's other works include the book ''Louisiana Purchase: an American Story.''

He composed editorial cartoons on television on WDSU during the 1960s. Other art works of his included a mural depicting the history of New Orleans in cartoons for the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

Chase taught New Orleans history at Tulane University, sometimes collaborating with Pie Dufour on classroom instruction, and cartooning at the University of New Orleans. For many years, his cartoons graced the football game programs at Tulane University, which maintains an exhibit of his artworks for their football programs.

He also created cartoons and illustrations for projects outside of New Orleans. One of his notable projects was a series of cartoons featuring the Texas Longhorns' mascot "Bevo" for the University of Texas at Austin in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tributes

A small street in the New Orleans Central Business District was named "John Churchill Chase" after his death. This was a section of street formerly named Calliope (one of a series of streets in the area named after the Muses). This street runs perpendicular to the Mississippi River, through the New Orleans Warehouse District, about two blocks downriver (north, at this point) from the Crescent City Connection Bridge.

Selected works

* Chase, John Churchill. ''Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children and Other Streets of New Orleans,'' 1st ed. New Orleans: Crager, 1949.
* Chase, John Churchill. ''Today's Cartoon'', Hauser Press, New Orleans, 1962.
* Allen, Edison B. ''Of Time and Chase,'' 1st. ed New Orleans: Hambersham, 1969

External links

Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
* A photograph from 1957 of John Churchill Chas


*
* A photograph of Mr. New Orleans, also known as The Little Man, can b
viewed on-line

* Examples of John Churchill Chase's cartoons are available online courtesy of th
KnowLa Encyclopedia of Louisiana

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, John Churchill
1905 births
1986 deaths
American editorial cartoonists
American comics artists
Artists from New Orleans
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
Writers from New Orleans
Culture of New Orleans
20th-century American artists
20th-century American historians
Tulane University faculty
University of New Orleans faculty
20th-century American male writers
Historians from Louisiana
Presidents of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists