New Yorker Cartoons And History: A Class

I love the artform and what it tells us

From the first issue of The New Yorker in 1925. The first cartoon is on the left, by Al Frueh

Hey everyone. I want to tell you about a virtual class I’m teaching. I’m very excited about it. It will be given over two evenings and will dive into the history of The New Yorker cartoon, from 1925-present. Sponsored by the 92NY in NYC, this class is part of their amazing new education program called Rountable. You may be aware that I wrote a book about the history of women cartoonists of the magazine, Very Funny Ladies—this is not that. This class is about the general population of cartoonists and how the art form that we love came to be.

I love looking at cartoons and observing how they tell us about ourselves. They are a cultural roadmap of who we were and who we are.

Cartoons (or “drawings” as they were called in the magazine originally, until recent history) and humor often rely on the known, the given, of a culture in order to twist off of. This is what elicits a laugh. So, many cartoons from eighty years ago might not be understandale because they were of a different time. However, some are. Many show us our dark past. Some show us our present is like the past—in good ways and bad.

Looking at humor is so fun, and I love all the drawing styles! One learns so much. Growing up, The New Yorker attracted me as a place to aspire to be published in because it has always valued drawing as important as words.

The link to register is here. November 8th and 15th at 6pm EST. I hope you can join me!