Engaging essays on a wide-variety of illustration-based subjects by knowledgable authors, scholars, artists, and students can be explored here.
Constructing New Meaning in Children’s Books: The Work of Faith Ringgold, Jerry Pinkney, and Vashti Harrison
Lee Price | February 23, 2021 - This essay focuses on the ways Black creatives have utilized the medium of children’s books to construct positive imagery, meaning, purpose, and pride.
Thomas Nast: The Rise and Fall of the Father of Political Cartoons
Stella Wei | January 7, 2021 - Known as the father of political cartoons, no other artist wielded more power in influencing public opinion of American politics during the 19th century.
Dan Smith: Rediscovered Star of the World
Alex Bialy | May 27, 2020 - This essay examines the remarkable career of a prolific Golden Age illustrator of full-page Sunday newspaper supplements and painted Western subjects.
Reflecting the Soul of a Nation: Polish Poster Art
Frederick Schneider | July 25, 2015 - The posters created in Poland from the 1950s through the 1980s represent a body of work critically important to the histories of visual communication, graphic design, and illustration.
The Art of Hoarding
| January 10, 2015 - Aubrey Beardsley writes about the relative value of commercial art vs. fine art.