John T. McCutcheon Cartoon Collection

John Tinney McCutcheon (1870-1949) worked as a political and satirical cartoonist on the staff of several Chicago newspapers. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1889 from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, McCutcheon took his first job at the Chicago Record, later named the Chicago Record-Herald. The bulk of his career, however, was spent at the Chicago Tribune from 1903 to 1946. His cartoons offered commentary on a range of topics spanning economics, politics, social change and international affairs. Although McCutcheon is best known for his illustration work, he also served as a Chicago Tribune correspondent for the Spanish American War, the Philippine insurrection, the South African (Boer) War and World War I, from both the German and Allied fronts. Additionally, he collaborated as an illustrator with his longtime friend from Indiana and Purdue University, the humorist George Ade, on several publications including the popular “fables” books. In 1931, McCutcheon was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the cartoon “A Wise Economist Asks a Question.”

McCutcheon married Evelyn Shaw in 1917. After his death in 1949, Mrs. McCutcheon distributed his original drawings to several institutions in the Midwest, and also helped to publish his autobiography, Drawn from Memory. In addition to the publications authored by McCutcheon, there are several titles that he illustrated. A selection of these may be found by searching the library’s catalog.