The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum’s newest exhibit, Wit & Humor: American Political Cartoons, is on display now.
Using collections from the Library of Congress and the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives at Texas A&M University, Wit & Humor shows how cartoons have changed since the early days of the Republic. The exhibit will be on display from July 15 to Jan. 5, 2020, in the Ansary Gallery of American History.
Cartooning Texas: One Hundred Years of Cartoon Art in the Lone Star State will be part of the exhibit, displaying both a cartoon history of Texas politics and a history of political cartooning from 1890 to 1990. Cartooning Texas is a traveling exhibition circulated by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities.
From the earliest days of our nation, political cartoons appeared as tools of expression for both the powerful and powerless. Using symbols, imagery, and humor, cartoonists have played a special role in helping average Americans make sense of the tumultuous and complex events we experience in our increasingly connected world.
Cartoons from artists including Thomas Nast, Bill Mauldin, Herbert Block, Garry Trudeau, and Patrick Oliphant — regarded as giants in their field — will be highlighted.
The exhibit consists of eight sections, each devoted to a specific cartoonist or facet of cartooning.
Wit and Humor features more than 65 original artifacts and pieces of artwork, videos, and interactive digital kiosks that highlight important topics and works.
Located on the campus of Texas A&M, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is part of the National Archives and Records Administration’s Presidential Libraries system. The Bush Library and Museum is located at 1000 George Bush Drive W. in College Station and is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 5pm and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm, with the exceptions of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The museum is fully handicapped accessible. For more information, call (979) 691-4000 or go to www.bush41.org.
