“Timely and Timeless: New Comic Art Acquisitions”

Library of Congress, Swann Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsc-02839

Now here's an exhibition to catch: via i09 (many more images posted at the link) and the Washington Post comes word of a new show at the Library of Congress' Graphic Arts Galleries (in the Thomas Jefferson Building) of comic art. Free to the public and running until March 10, 2012, it showcases a sampling of diverse genres culled from the institution's collection that centers around the thousands of archived works in the The Caroline and Erwin Swann Collection of Caricature and Cartoon. From the Library's press release:

"Timely and Timeless" celebrates and demonstrates the multi-faceted development and impressive growth of the comic art collections at the Library of Congress. The 48 works on display are grouped primarily by genre, including editorial cartoons, caricatures, comic strips, cover art and humor cartoons, comic-book drawings and graphic narratives. Among the cartoonists represented are historical masters James Gillray and Honoré Daumier, as well as modern and contemporary creators such as Jazz Age cartoonist John Held, Jr.; African American artist Oliver Wendell Harrington; New Yorker cartoonists Charles Addams and Roz Chast; and comic-strip creators Bill Griffith and Aaron McGruder."

Pictured above is an iconic frame from Winsor McCay's 1914 benchmark animation "Gertie the Dinosaur," one of the first examples of American animation (watch it here).

I aim to visit this exhibition during my migration back north in November - the chance to view first-hand some of these historical pieces should be an inspirational opportunity.