Virginia Political History

Virginia was house to many well-known politicians and musicians and artists, however it may put claim to many prominent governmental musicians and artists. Two of the very influential and achieved tend to be Fred O. Seibel and Jeff MacNelly. Though they were only briefly contemporaries, their particular outstanding work, iconic characters, and prodigious output demand their particular recognition as all-time greats inside their field. Choices from both musicians and artists’ work are available at the Virginia Historical Society, and they are well worth exploring.

Fred O. Seibel (1886–1968) had been initially an innovative new Yorker, and established himself as a favorite governmental cartoonist doing work for the Utica Tribune together with Knickerbocker Press, a book with a solid Republican bent. In June of 1926 he moved to Virginia and started working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which prompted an about-face from their previous governmental leanings. He whole-heartedly embraced the well-known Democratic custom found throughout the South and would shortly call Virginia their adopted residence. Performing within the restraints of a single-pane comic, he found countless methods to lampoon current governmental dilemmas, such as the efficient usage of several continual figures. “The Colonel” was a physical incarnation of southern democratic custom, “We the individuals” represented the working class of The united states, along with his most beloved “Moses Crow” ended up being a witty bird dressed in an amusing number of outfits found in the sides of many of Seibel’s comics.

Because big while he had been respected, Seibel made their work widely available and often gave original copies to those that asked for them. He held a remarkably low profile for some body whose famous followers included Charles Lindbergh and Harry Byrd, and by all records he existed a rather happy, modest life in Richmond together with spouse until his death in 1968. There is no question which he achieved his stated goal of doing at least one of three things with his work. “It should make the audience laugh or weep or believe. It's My Job To you will need to make him laugh slightly whether I Will make him think or otherwise not.”

Fred Seibel represented the top of Virginia political cartooning the very first 1 / 2 of the twentieth-century, nevertheless second half had been undoubtedly ruled by Jeff MacNelly (1947 –2000). He got his start attracting cartoons for his high-school literary mag in Massachusetts then carried on to build up his art while working for many journals at school in Chapel Hill, like the UNC pupil run Daily Tar Heel. In 1970 he moved to Virginia and started work with the Richmond News chief, and only two years later he became one of the youngest people to win a Pulitzer prize within age twenty-four. It had been their first of three during the period of a vocation that would see their work syndicated in almost 1, 000 newspapers. Though he would in the course of time keep the News Leader for a stint in Chicago, he in the end gone back to Virginia, that he would call home throughout their life.

Their editorial work was just rivaled by his creation of Shoe in 1977, which won the National Cartoonist’s community Reuben Award in 1979. It traded the single pane structure of their editorials for a multi-paned strip, plus it created a residential district of birds to serve up every day amounts of humor. It predicated on a newspaper run by “P. Martin Shoemaker, ” a cantankerous Purple Marten, “Perfessor Cosmo Fishhawk, ” a bumbling Osprey, and their particular odd choice of feathered friends. Shoe ended up being less straight governmental than his editorials but nevertheless were able to provide plenty of personal commentary, as figures complained about fees, struggled with healthy living, and frowned to their politicians. Sadly, MacNelly passed away too quickly in 2000 on age of fifty-three after a battle with lymphoma. Shoe life on, but into the able arms of his widow Suzie and selection of colleagues. Examples of MacNelly’s editorial work are found right here, and his Shoe comic could be read right here.