Cartoon's Golden Age

At the Norman Rockwell Museum

Laughter is said to be the best medicine and the Norman Rockwell Museum is inviting us all to join in the humor provided through the world of cartooning in its next exhibition, All for Laughs: The Artists of the Famous Cartoonist Course, opening Saturday, March 1.

The Famous Cartoonists Course, inaugurated in 1956, was an outgrowth of the successful Famous Artists School commercial and fine art correspondence courses established in 1948 in Westport Connecticut. The courses tapped the talents of renowned artists to provide curricula for some 40,000 students in the fields of illustration, fine-art painting, cartooning, photography and writing, including acclaimed illustrator, Elwood Smith.

Smith, whose work has been exhibited over the years at Norman Rockwell Museum and who will be present for the opening members reception March 1, was one of the successful students who took the course.

“I did what probably a million kids did,” he said. “I drew either a cowboy or a pretty girl to try to win a free course. Thinking back on it now, it all seems pretty ironic, I actually took a mail-in course and look at me now. Who would have thought?”

The cartooning lessons were written by some of the most renowned artists of the time including Rube Goldberg, Al Capp, Milton Caniff and Dick Cavalli. The artists crafted a 24-lesson textbook that walked aspiring cartoonists through the basics of cartooning from “The Comic Figure” to “Anatomy” and “Perspective.” Each lesson was accompanied by an assignment that students were asked to complete and submit for assessment.

“Although the founding cartoonists did little actual teaching or critiquing of student work—tasks delegated to the course’s staff artists—they did develop curriculum and left behind a trove of their own work,” said Rockwell Museum chief curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett. “The attitude of these prominent cartoonists towards their students was straightforward: ‘Whatever your reason for taking this course, have fun with it. Successful cartoonists enjoy their job. You can’t create a funny drawing if you don’t enjoy creating it."

Their book is now in the public domain and can be accessed online. It offers not only illustrations that help cartoonists to master the art but also text that includes valuable guidance. “As an observer and recorder of the human race, you must have an awareness not only of the surface differences between people but also of what makes them tick,” the cartoonists wrote. “In general, you must become a psychologist. A good understanding of the emotional differences between people will help you to create cartoon characters that will react properly to any set of circumstances and leave no doubt in the reader's mind as to the type of people they are.”

They urged would-be cartoon artists to observe the characteristics of their subjects. “Stop looking at your friends as Joe, Bill or Mary. Instead, think of them as Joe, the big-mouthed showoff; Bill, the little mouse; and Mary, the girl that’s afraid of her husband, kids and the family goldfish,” they advised.

Aspiring artists were counseled to draw constantly—to carry little sketchbooks and pencils and to grab any free moment to record what was around them. But most of all, they were encouraged to have fun. “Learning to draw cartoons is a serious business,” they wrote. “(But) cartooning has often been called ‘the happy art,’ and drawing comic heads is one of the happiest parts of it. Don’t expect every (drawing) … to be a masterpiece — but do expect them to get better as you give them more time and thought — and, above all, have fun drawing them!”

“Comic strips, gag cartoons and humorous drawings have been widely appreciated by audiences across time and media outlets,” said Plunkett. “We are honored to showcase the museum’s outstanding collection of the work of the founding creators of the Famous Artists Cartoon Course.”

Since 2014 The Rockwell Museum has owned more than 5,000 original works from the Famous Artists School Archive, donated by the late Robert Livesey and his wife, Magdalen, owners of Famous Artists School/Cortina Learning International since 1981. The works included a rich body of materials―from candid archival photographs and promotional and instructional films to complete courses in illustration and cartooning.

Plunkett has described the works as being drawn from “the golden age of illustration,” before the advent of commercial photography and the shift in traditional art teaching towards Abstract Expressionism.

All for Laughs will also feature a video component that delves into the history of the Famous Artists Cartoonist Course with commentary and reflections from contemporary cartoonists and illustrators Emily Flake, Brian Hess, Louis Henry Mitchell, Marc Rosenthal and Elwood Smith. These modern-day creators provide insights into the value and influence of the course and recreate some of its lessons in their own way.

There will be two opening-day special programs when illustrator Ryan Hartley Smith and Plunkett present “Can You Draw This? Educating America’s Cartoonists and Comic Artists,” from 4 to 5PM, focusing on the dramatic evolution of the field and the resulting changes in how cartooning is taught—from the introduction of the popular Famous Artists Cartoon Course in 1956, to the diverse stylistic and current storytelling approaches.

Smith will lead participants through hands-on exercises with cartoon art. No drawing experience is required; $25 for non-members.

The program is followed from 5 to 7PM by a free opening reception for members. The reception offers an opportunity for conversation with cartoonists/illustrators Elwood Smith, Marc Rosenthal and Famous Artists School owner Magdalen Livesey.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is a comprehensive resource relating to Norman Rockwell and the art of illustration. NRM is open year-round, six days a week and is closed Wednesdays. Admission is charged the link below.