Through paintings, costume and set designs, posters, photographs, film clips and theater ephemera this exhibition will bring to light an exhilarating but fleeting moment in the cultural history of the Soviet Union when innovative visual artists joined forces with avant-garde playwrights, actors, and theatrical producers.

On view November 9, 2008 - March 22, 2009


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Natan Altman
Poster for Jewish Luck, 1925
Printed on paper
40 x 28 in. (100 x 71.5 cm)
Collection of Merrill C. Berman, Rye, New York
Art © Estate of Natan Altman/RAO, Moscow/VAGA, New York

 






Special Exhibition

Ware uses form and design to build upon comics tradition, but also to find new ways to tell stories and reveal human emotions that are appropriate to his generation. In other words, Ware’s abstractions, combinations of apparently ephemeral elements, and leaps of logical continuity are all part of how people now experience the world around them. 

Chris Ware (b. 1967)
<i>Draw Cartoons—Ruin Your Life</i>, 2003
Pen and ink with colored pencil and gouache
Collection of the artist
Reproduced with permission of the artist

Masters of American Comics

September 15, 2006 - January 28, 2007
< back | Introduction | Online Gallery | Related Programs | Buy the Catalog!
A two-part exhibition at

The Jewish Museum
&
The Newark Museum


Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, comic strips and comic books have been a tremendously influential form of mass media. Masters of American Comics brings together the work of fourteen artists, from Winsor McCay to Chris Ware, who have defined and expanded the possibilities of a vastly popular art form. Presented in two parts, the first, at the Newark Museum, looks at comic strips in the first half of the twentieth century, and the second, at The Jewish Museum, looks at comic books from the 1950s to the present.

Co-curator John Carlin writes in his catalogue essay, "The history of comics is about many things—stories, gags, characters and layouts. But in the end, it all boils down to inventive ways to design pictures and words to engage readers and make them pay attention." While the exhibition examines the stylistic development of comic art, it also provides a lively survey of the American twentieth century through some of its most well-known—and most beloved—creations.

This exhibition began as a collaboration between two institutions in Los Angeles, where the first half of the show was shown at The Hammer Museum and the second half across town at The Museum of Contemporary Art. Here, the comic strips will be shown at the Newark Museum while the comic books will be at The Jewish Museum. Masters of American Comics was co-curated by independent scholars John Carlin and Brian Walker.


Artists at The Jewish Museum

Will Eisner
Jack Kirby
Harvey Kurtzman
R. Crumb
Gary Panter
Chris Ware


For the entire run of the show members of The Jewish Museum & The Newark Museum will enjoy reciprocal free admission and a 10% discount at each gift shop.

Artists at the Newark Museum
Visit The Newark Museum Web Site >

Winsor McCay
Lionel Feininger
George Herriman
E. C. Segar

Frank King
Chester Gould
Milton Caniff
Charles M. Schulz



large printverbal imaging toursassistive listeningsign language interpreted tours
Related Links

The Real Comic Book Heroes TATE ETC., online magazine


Will Eisner
The Spirit (“Il Duce’s Locket”), drawing for newspaper splash page (published May 25, 1947)
Pen and ink on paper
Collection of Denis Kitchen
© Will Eisner Estate.

Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts, detail of newspaper Sunday page (published October 13, 1968)
Pen and ink
Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
PEANUTS © United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Masters of American Comics was jointly organized by the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The exhibition is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The presentations at The Jewish Museum and The Newark Museum are supported through a leadership grant from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Major support for The Jewish Museum’s presentation is provided by Jane and James Stern.

Marketing support was provided by Reed Exhibitions and New York Comic Con.



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