During the first three decades of the twentieth century, cartoonist Billy Ireland enjoyed a national readership from his home base at the Columbus Dispatch. He was known both for his editorial cartoons and for “The Passing Show,” an illustrated full-page color Sunday commentary on current events. Ireland supported environmental concerns before being “green” was in vogue and he was influential in the development of what is now Civic Center Drive in Columbus. Another major contribution was his generous mentoring of young cartoonists such as Milton Caniff. This exhibit documents Ireland’s career through original cartoon art, photographs, correspondence and related materials.

In 2009 the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation gave $7 million to The Ohio State University in honor of Billy Ireland. In recognition of this generous gift, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum was established, expanding the mission of the facility that was created when Milton Caniff donated his papers to create a research library devoted to cartoon art. With this exhibition we celebrate the life and work of Billy Ireland, one of the nation’s most creative and productive cartoonists.