The National Cartoon Museum was an American museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of

cartoon 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 over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

s and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. It was the brainchild of Mort Walker, creator of '' Beetle Bailey''. The museum opened in 1974, went through several name changes, relocations, and temporary closures, before finally closing for good in 2002. Originally known as the Museum of Cartoon Art in 1974, the name was changed to the National Cartoon Museum when it moved to

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, in 1992. In 1996, it became the International Museum of Cartoon Art. In June 2008, Walker's collection was merged with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, affiliated with Ohio State University in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

History

Walker began preserving cartoon artwork in the 1940s, when he discovered

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

using ''

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...

'' drawings to sop up water leaks. Walker lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1974, with a contribution of $50,000 from the

Hearst Foundation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, telev ...

, he opened his museum nearby at 850 Canal Street in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. Two years later, the landlord decided he could rent the mansion for more, forcing a move to a space on Field Point Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. Later, the museum occupied Ward's Castle, a large, dilapidated house in Port Chester, New York. In late 1991 the city of

invited Walker to relocate there, and the museum prepared to move in 1992. While working to re-open, the museum was robbed of ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

'' and '' Prince Valiant'' originals, as well as some Disney

animation cel A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...

s. After acquiring more funding, and a donation of Disney art from

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...

' Steve Geppi, the newly minted International Museum of Cartoon Art finally opened the doors to its new facility in 1996. Gary Hood was appointed director of curatorial affairs. However, the museum did not attract enough donations and two corporate sponsors went bankrupt. In 1998, the Hearst Foundation again stepped in, giving the museum $1 million."News Watch: International Museum Gets a Cool Million," ''The Comics Journal'' #201 (Jan. 1998), p. 22. Nonetheless, to pay off some of the debts (including outstanding mortgage payments), Walker auctioned off a

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

drawing in 2001 for $700,000. It was not enough, however; the museum was forced to close in 2002, and the collection was put into storage. An attempt was made to relocate to three floors of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

in New York City in 2007, but the deal fell through for reasons that are disputed. Walker finally accepted an offer to merge his collection with that of Ohio State University in 2008.Whiteman, Doug. "Addition to make school's comic art collection really super", Associated Press, May 16, 2008.
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Collection

The collection includes over 200,000 original drawings, 20,000 comic books, 1000 hours of film and tape, and various other items. It consists almost entirely of donations from artists, including Chester Gould (''

''), Hal Foster ('' Prince Valiant''), Bil Keane ('' Family Circus''), political cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, Mike Peters ('' Mother Goose and Grimm''), Milton Caniff (''

Terry and the Pirates ''Terry and the Pirates'' is an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, which originally ran from October 22, 1934, to February 25, 1973. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, ...

''), Dik Browne ('' Hägar the Horrible''),

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

(''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

''),

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...

and others. According to the curators, it is valued at an estimated $20 million. Among its prized possessions is the first drawing of Mickey Mouse, by Ub Iwerks for the character's film debut in '' Plane Crazy'' (1928).

William Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame

Begun in 1974, the Hall of Fame was renamed the William Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame in 1997 after a sponsorship was provided by the Hearst Foundation. The 31 inductees, chosen by non-cartoonist authorities, are: * Peter Arno *

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...

* Dik Browne * Milton Caniff *

Al Capp Alfred Gerald Caplin (September 28, 1909 – November 5, 1979), better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip ''Li'l Abner'', which he created in 1934 and continued writing and (wi ...

* Roy Crane *

Billy DeBeck William Morgan DeBeck (April 15, 1890 – November 11, 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip ''Barney Google'', later retitled ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'' ...

Rudolph Dirks Rudolph Dirks (February 26, 1877 – April 20, 1968) was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists, well known for ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' (later known as ''The Captain and the Kids''). Dirks was born in Heide, Germany, to Joh ...

* Walt Disney * Will Eisner * Bud Fisher * Harold Foster * Charles Dana Gibson *

* Chester Gould * Harold Gray *

Cathy Guisewite Cathy Lee Guisewite (born September 5, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created the comic strip ''Cathy'', which had a 34-year run. The strip focused on a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and havi ...

* George Herriman * Lynn Johnston *

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

* Walt Kelly * Winsor McCay * George McManus * Thomas Nast *

Frederick Opper Frederick Burr Opper (January 2, 1857 – August 28, 1937) is regarded as one of the pioneers of American newspaper comic strips, best known for his comic strip ''Happy Hooligan''. His comic characters were featured in magazine gag cartoons, cov ...

Richard Outcault Richard Felton Outcault (; January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) was an American cartoonist. He was the creator of the series ''The Yellow Kid'' and ''Buster Brown'' and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip. Life and career ...

* Alex Raymond * Charles Schulz *

Elzie Segar Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimbl ...

* Jimmy Swinnerton * Mort Walker * Chic Young

References

External links

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
{{authority control Cartooning museums Defunct museums in Connecticut Defunct museums in Florida Defunct museums in New York (state) History of animation Art museums established in 1974 Art museums disestablished in 2002 1974 establishments in Connecticut 2002 disestablishments in Connecticut

History

Collection

William Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame

See also

References

External links