Whitney Darrow Jr. (August 22, 1909 – August 10, 1999) was a prominent American cartoonist, who worked most of his career for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', with some 1,500 of his cartoons printed in his nearly 50-year-long career with the magazine. Gussow, Mel
"Whitney Darrow Jr., 89, Gentle Satirist of Modern Life, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 12, 1999. Accessed September 11, 2008.

Biography

Darrow was born in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, where his father Whitney Darrow was founding director of

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

. Darrow grew up in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

, where he attended

Greenwich High School Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves roughly 2,700 students. It offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-cu ...

.Memorials > Whitney Darrow Jr. '31
''Princeton Alumni Weekly'', November 3, 1999. Accessed September 12, 2008. He graduated in 1931 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he wrote humor for the ''

Daily Princetonian ''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. Founded on June 14, 1876 as ''The'' ''Princetonian'', it changed its name to ''T ...

'' and was art director for the '' Princeton Tiger Magazine''. He honed his craft at

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

with instructors including painter Thomas Hart Benton. In his early 20s began selling cartoons to ''

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' and '' College Humor''. As a 24-year-old in 1933, he sold his first cartoon to ''The New Yorker'', while the magazine, which had been founded in 1925, was still in its infancy. This first cartoon depicted three nudists, two women observing a man, with one woman telling the other, "Last night I saw him in a blue serge suit. Zowie!" The humor in Darrow's cartoons often focused on the absurdities and behavioral contradictions of middle-class suburban life, and featured characters such as judges, windbags, individuals in varying states of drunkenness, children and art. A classic Darrow depicts a group of small schoolchildren observing

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

's '' Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'' (The Luncheon on the Grass), depicting a female nude with two fully dressed men, being told in explanation by their adult guide that "Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."Hawtree, Christopher
"Whitney Darrow: A quiet, small-town homebody whose satirical cartoons added a streak of pessimism to the New Yorker"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', August 21, 1999. Accessed September 12, 2008. He published four collections of his cartoons, ''You're Sitting on My Eyelashes,'' ''Give Up?'', ''Stop, Miss'' and ''Please Pass the Hostess.'' He illustrated children's books and other books written by such authors as

Nathaniel Benchley Nathaniel Goddard Benchley (November 13, 1915 – December 14, 1981) was an American writer from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Robert Benchley (1889–1945), a noted American wri ...

Jean Kerr Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins, July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an Irish-American author and playwright born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who authored the 1957 bestseller ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hea ...

, and

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

. A master draftsman who (unlike most of his colleagues) wrote his own captions, Darrow was among the last of the New Yorker's early cartoonists, joining

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Fa ...

Peter Arno Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. (January 8, 1904 – February 22, 1968), known professionally as Peter Arno, was an American cartoonist. He contributed cartoons and 101 covers to ''The New Yorker'' from 1925, the magazine's first year, until 1968, the ...

, George Price and

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...

. Darrow retired from the magazine in 1982. Darrow died in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. He and his wife Mildred lived in

Shelburne, Vermont Shelburne is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, Vermont, ...

References

External links

Gallery of classic graphic design featuring the illustrations of Whitney Darrow.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darrow, Whitney Jr. 1909 births 1999 deaths American cartoonists The New Yorker cartoonists People from Shelburne, Vermont People from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Greenwich High School alumni