ANIMAL CRACKERS - A Cartoon and Comic Bestiary
The Cartoon Museum, 25 July – 21 October 2012
Animals have always inspired cartoon and comic artists, and this cartoon bestiary features the iconic American Eagle, the Russian Bear and the financial Fat Cat, as well as favourite characters such as Mickey Mouse, Wallace and Gromit, Flook, Fred Basset, Gnasher, Pip, Squeak and Wilfred and Rupert Bear. Also included are cracking joke cartoons from Punch, Private Eye, The Oldie, The Spectator and many national papers. There is something for everyone with over 140 cartoons, caricatures, comics and graphic novels by over 60 artists.
Throughout history animals have fascinated us - we have hunted, eaten, studied, collected – and drawn them. They inspired our earliest art and our oldest myths. We have given them human attributes: ‘as cunning as a fox’, ‘as wise as an owl’, ‘as brave as a lion’. Selfish pigs and proud peacocks strut their stuff on our gallery walls accompanied by Aesop’s Hare and Tortoise, the Three Bears (minus Goldilocks) and other characters of fur, feather and scale from folk and fairy tales and from literary classics such as the Alice books.
Many of the cartoons suggest how much animals are ‘just like us’. From Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket and King Louie of The Jungle Book to Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit, these animals are human in every way that counts. Others, such as Simon’s Cat and Thelwell’s ponies, highlight our pets’ irritating or endearing habits.
The exhibition includes works by Nick Abadzis, Nathan Ariss, Sally Artz, Bill Baker, Ian Baker, Carl Barks, Les Barton, Leo Baxendale, Steve Bell, Neil Bennett, Steve Best, Alfred Bestall, Andrew Birch, Simon Bond, Peter Brookes, Dave Brown, Cluff, Clive Collins, James Crighton, Andy Davey, Jim Davis, the Disney studio, Hunt Emerson, Michael ffolkes, Jacky Fleming, Herbert Foxell, Les Gibbard, Carl Giles, Henry Harrison, W. K. Haselden, William Heath, Wilf Henry, Martin Honeysett, Housley, John Jensen, David Langdon, Don Lawrence, John Leech, David Low, Ken Mahood, Mac, Ed McHenry, Ed McLachlan, Howard McWilliam, Matt, Nick Newman, Ronald Niebour, A. B. Payne, Oliver Preston, Jack Prout, Ken Pyne, Chris Riddell, Andy Riley, Royston Robertson
(cartoon above), Martin Rowson, Tim Sanders, Peter Schrank, Ronald Searle, Robert Seymour, Will Spencer, Ralph Steadman, ‘Sidney’ Strube, David Sutherland, the Surreal McCoy, Bryan Talbot, John Tenniel, Norman Thelwell, Bert Thomas, Geoff Thompson, Simon Tofield, Trog, Dudley D. Watkins, Doris White, Colin Whittock, Kipper Williams, Mike Williams, Richard Williams studio and Gahan Wilson.
For more information or for other images contact Anita O’Brien or Sarah Batten on 020 76310793 or
info@cartoonmuseum.org
