The Library of Congress Displays "New Comic Art Acquisitions"

Written by Julian Bashir Monday, 27 February 2012 21:43

Washinton, DC.- The Library of Congress is pleased to present “Timely and Timeless: New Comic Art Acquisitions” on view from September 15th through March 10th 2012. Political and social satire, comic-strip and comic-book drawings, New Yorker magazine illustrations and graphic narratives — original cartoon art that was added to the Library of Congress collections during the past decade — will all be featured in the new exhibition. “Timely and Timeless” celebrates and demonstrates the multi-faceted development and impressive growth of the comic art collections at the Library of Congress. The 48 works on display are grouped primarily by genre, including editorial cartoons, caricatures, comic strips, cover art and humor cartoons, comic-book drawings and graphic narratives.  Among the cartoonists represented are historical masters James Gillray and Honoré Daumier, as well as modern and contemporary creators such as Jazz Age cartoonist John Held, Jr.; African American artist Oliver Wendell Harrington; New Yorker cartoonists Charles Addams and Roz Chast; and comic-strip creators Bill Griffith and Aaron McGruder.

The selection in this exhibition also responds to recent trends in cartooning, which include growth in mainstream and alternative comic-book industries and the related, rapidly rising importance of graphic novels or narratives, as represented by the work of Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man, and graphic novelist Eric Drooker. The title of the exhibition, “Timely and Timeless,” refers to the nature of comic art. Comic art relates closely to the times that give rise to it — in terms of content, aesthetic sensibility and conceptualization. Timeliness is, in fact, a defining feature of much comic art, which often comments on current events. Timeless reflections of the human condition and society are also represented in the drawings and prints selected for this exhibition. The messages and artistic expression embodied in these creations transcend the periods in which they were created.


The development of the Library’s comic-art holdings can be attributed to the support of the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, which was established to encourage appreciation for the dynamic and evolving field of cartoon and illustration arts; to special funds; and to the generosity of numerous donors, many of them artists who have given original work. The breadth of the selection presented in “Timely and Timeless” provides an opportunity to explore and experience the richness of these collections.

The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress - and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein…" Established with $5,000 appropriated by the legislation, the original library was housed in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillaging the contents of the small library. Within a month, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books, "putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the finest in the United States.  When the Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public on November 1, 1897, it was hailed as a glorious national monument and "the largest, the costliest, and the safest" library building in the world. Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of more than 144 million items includes more than 33 million cataloged books and other print materials in 460 languages; more than 63 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings. The Library’s Geography and Map Division has the largest and most comprehensive collection of maps and atlases in the world, some 5.2 million cartographic items that date from the 14th century to the present.  The Library's map collections contain coverage for every country and subject, and include the works of the most famous mapmakers throughout history — Ptolemy, Waldseemüller, Mercator, Ortelius and Blaeu. The Library’s Prints and Photographs Division holds the largest-known collection of American political prints, the finest assemblage of British satirical prints outside Great Britain, and holdings of original drawings by generations of America’s best cartoonists and illustrators. Extensive runs of rare satirical and comic journals from Europe and the United States can also be found in the division. In addition, the division holds photographs, posters, historical prints, fine-art prints and architectural and engineering designs.Visit the library's website at ... www.loc.gov

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