An Exhibition at The Ohio State University Thompson Library Gallery
1858 Neil Avenue
September 4, 2010-January 2, 2011
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.
This exhibit is free and open to the public. Thompson Library Gallery hours are Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon-5 p.m. Public parking for Thompson Library is available in the Neil Avenue Garage or the Ohio Union Garage.
Additional information about Billy Ireland may be found at http://www.wosu.org/artzine-video/?date=03/16/2009&id=0
About the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum: Our primary mission is to develop a comprehensive research collection of materials documenting American printed cartoon art (editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, sports cartoons, and magazine cartoons) and to provide access to these collections. The library is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public. See https://cartoons.osu.edu/ for further information. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is located at 27 W. 17th Avenue, north of the Wexner Center’s main entrance. Parking is available at the Ohio Union Garage.
Contact the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum for an image to accompany this release.
Contact: Lucy Shelton Caswell
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
023L Wexner, 27 W. 17th Avenue Mall
Columbus OH 43210-1393
614-292-0538 cartoons@osu.edu
www.cartoons.osu.edu