Edward D. Kuekes
Encyclopedia
Edward Daniel Kuekes was an American editorial cartoonist
. Working for the Cleveland, Ohio
Plain Dealer, he won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
.
Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, his family moved to Berea, Ohio
in 1913. He graduated from Berea High School
in 1918. After graduating Baldwin–Wallace College
, he studied art at Cleveland School of Art and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Early influences on his work were Gaar Williams
, Ding Darling, and Billy Ireland
. His career at the Plain Dealer began in 1922 as understudy to editorial cartoonist Hal Donahey. Kuekes handled general art chores for the Plain Dealer, such as illustrating news events. Over the years he drew a number of regular features for the paper, including a movie-themed feature called Closeups, an editorial cartoon called All in a Week, and a Sunday featured called Cartoonist Looks at the News. For much of the 1940s, his trademark was a rabbit named "The Kernel", which came from his work as an amateur stage magician. Following Donahey's death in 1949, Kuekes became chief editorial cartoonist of the Plain Dealer.
Kuekes won the Pulitzer Prize for a Korean War
cartoon called "Aftermath". In the cartoon, two soldiers carry a third on a stretcher. One asks "Wonder if he voted?" while the other replies "No, he wasn't old enough." (In the United States, the voting age was not lowered from 21 to 18 until the passage of the 26th Amendment
in 1971.) In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Kuekes won three Freedoms Foundation medals in 1949, 1950, and 1951, a Silver T-Square in 1953, and a Christopher Award
in 1955.
Kuekes also drew a number of comic strip
s. With writer Olive Ray Scott, he drew the strip Alice in Wonderland and its accompanying strip Knurl the Gnome for United Features Syndicate in 1934. For the Plain Dealer, he drew the Sunday comic strip Funny Fables from 1935 to 1937 and this work was collected in a 1938 book, Funny Fables: Modern Interpretations of Famous Fabulists. With Steve Freely, he drew the daily panel strip Do You Believe for the LaFave Syndicate from 1955 to 1962.
Kuekes died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
.
Editorial cartoonist
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary....
. Working for the Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Plain Dealer, he won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect...
.
Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, his family moved to Berea, Ohio
Berea, Ohio
- History :The first European settlers were originally from Connecticut. Berea fell within Connecticut's Western Reserve and was surveyed and divided into townships and ranges by one Gideon Granger, a gentleman who served as Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson...
in 1913. He graduated from Berea High School
Berea High School
Berea High School is a high school located in Berea, Ohio. It was founded in 1882, and the current structure was built in 1929. It was the first of two public high schools in the Berea City School District, the other being Midpark High School. Berea High School serves grades nine through...
in 1918. After graduating Baldwin–Wallace College
Baldwin–Wallace College
Baldwin–Wallace College is a liberal arts college in Berea, Ohio, founded in 1845. It is home to the Riemenschneider-Bach Institute and the Baldwin–Wallace Conservatory of Music, an internationally renowned music school. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Students receive a...
, he studied art at Cleveland School of Art and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Early influences on his work were Gaar Williams
Gaar Williams
Gaar Campbell Williams was a prominent American cartoonist who worked for the Indianapolis News and the Chicago Tribune. His scenes of horse-and-buggy days in small towns of the Victorian era included situations taken from memories of his childhood in his hometown of Richmond, Indiana...
, Ding Darling, and Billy Ireland
Billy Ireland
William Addison Ireland , a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, was a self-taught cartoonist well known throughout Ohio as Billy Ireland. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum was named in his honor in 2009....
. His career at the Plain Dealer began in 1922 as understudy to editorial cartoonist Hal Donahey. Kuekes handled general art chores for the Plain Dealer, such as illustrating news events. Over the years he drew a number of regular features for the paper, including a movie-themed feature called Closeups, an editorial cartoon called All in a Week, and a Sunday featured called Cartoonist Looks at the News. For much of the 1940s, his trademark was a rabbit named "The Kernel", which came from his work as an amateur stage magician. Following Donahey's death in 1949, Kuekes became chief editorial cartoonist of the Plain Dealer.
Kuekes won the Pulitzer Prize for a Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
cartoon called "Aftermath". In the cartoon, two soldiers carry a third on a stretcher. One asks "Wonder if he voted?" while the other replies "No, he wasn't old enough." (In the United States, the voting age was not lowered from 21 to 18 until the passage of the 26th Amendment
Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution limited the minimum voting age to no more than 18. It was adopted in response to student activism against the Vietnam War and to partially overrule the Supreme Court's decision in Oregon v. Mitchell...
in 1971.) In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Kuekes won three Freedoms Foundation medals in 1949, 1950, and 1951, a Silver T-Square in 1953, and a Christopher Award
Christopher Award
The Christopher Award is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit"...
in 1955.
Kuekes also drew a number of comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s. With writer Olive Ray Scott, he drew the strip Alice in Wonderland and its accompanying strip Knurl the Gnome for United Features Syndicate in 1934. For the Plain Dealer, he drew the Sunday comic strip Funny Fables from 1935 to 1937 and this work was collected in a 1938 book, Funny Fables: Modern Interpretations of Famous Fabulists. With Steve Freely, he drew the daily panel strip Do You Believe for the LaFave Syndicate from 1955 to 1962.
Kuekes died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
.
External links
- Edward D. Kuekes Cartoons at the Syracuse UniversitySyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
library - Lambiek Comiclopedia