Jay N. “Ding” Darling (1876-1962) was regarded by many as America’s greatest political cartoonist during the first half of the twentieth century. A two-time Pulitzer winner, Ding repeatedly topped popularity polls throughout the Twenties and Thirties. He was also an influential conservationist and visionary founder of the National Wildlife Federation, and both conceived of and illustrated the first Federal Duck Stamp. The Jay N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida, is named in his honor. For more than four decades, he drew for the Des Moines Register and his cartoons were syndicated around the country for millions to see. Ding was a fiercely independent spirit and a progressive Republican who followed his conscience, not party dogma. This led him to take many surprising stands, such as impassioned support for the League of Nations.

Please join us Thursday, May 17th at 7 pm, in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum to celebrate the opening of Remembering Ding, an exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Jay N. “Ding” Darling. This event will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ding Darling’s death, and celebrate the release of Richard Samuel West’s new book Iconoclast in Ink:  The Political Cartoons of Jay N. “Ding” Darling (which will be available for the first time at this event.) Join West at 7:30 pm that evening as he shares some of his favorite Ding cartoons and discusses the qualities in Ding’s work that made it so extraordinary. Iconoclast in Ink is a profusely illustrated volume celebrating Ding, published by The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Come spend an hour learning about Ding’s wonderful work, in all its antic and powerful glory.