Jack Davis (cartoonist)

American cartoonist

For other people with the same name, see Jack Davis (disambiguation).

Jack Davis

Davis in 2015

Born|

John Burton Davis Jr.

(1924-12-02)December 2, 1924

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Died| July 27, 2016(2016-07-27) (aged 91)

St. Simons, Georgia, U.S.

Occupation(s)| Cartoonist and illustrator
Years active| 1950–2014
Spouse|

Dena Roquemore

(m. 1950)​

Children| 2

John Burton Davis Jr. (December 2, 1924 – July 27, 2016) was an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art, and numerous comic book stories. He was one of the founding cartoonists for Mad in 1952.[1] His cartoon characters are characterized by extremely exaggerated anatomy, including big heads, skinny legs, and large feet.[2]

## Early life

[edit]

Davis was born December 2, 1924, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1][3] As a child, he enjoyed listening to Bob Hope on the radio and tried to draw him, despite not knowing what Hope looked like.[2]

## Career

[edit]

### Early work

[edit]

Davis saw comic book publication at the age of 12 when he contributed a cartoon to the reader's page of Tip Top Comics No. 9 (December 1936). After drawing for his high school newspaper and yearbook, he spent three years in the United States Navy during World War II, where he contributed to the daily Navy News.[1]

Attending the University of Georgia on the G.I. Bill, he drew for the campus newspaper and helped launch an off-campus humor publication, Bullsheet, which he described as "not political or anything but just something with risque jokes and cartoons." After graduation, he was a cartoonist intern at The Atlanta Journal, and he worked one summer inking Ed Dodd's Mark Trail comic strip, a strip which he later parodied in Mad as Mark Trade.[4]

### Comic strips and comic books

[edit]

Davis's flair for caricature made him a natural choice for satire magazines such as Mad, Cracked, Trump, Humbug and Help!

In 1949, Davis illustrated a Coca-Cola training manual, a job that gave him enough money to buy a car and drive to New York. Attending the Art Students League of New York, he found work with the Herald Tribune Syndicate as an inker on Leslie Charteris's The Saint comic strip, drawn by Mike Roy in 1949–1950. His own humor strip, Beauregard, with gags in a Civil War setting, was carried briefly by the McClure Syndicate. After rejections from several comic book publishers, he began freelancing for William Gaines's EC Comics in 1950, contributing to Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear, Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales, Piracy, Incredible Science Fiction, Crime Suspenstories, Shock Suspenstories and Terror Illustrated.

In 2011, Davis told The Wall Street Journal about his early career and his breakthrough with EC:[5]

> I was about ready to give up, go home to Georgia and be either a forest ranger or a farmer. But I went down to Canal Street and Lafayette, up in an old rickety elevator and through a glass door to Entertaining Comics where Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines were putting out horror [comic] books. They looked at my work and it was horrible and they gave me a job right away! Every time you went in to see Bill Gaines, he would write you a check when you brought in a story. You didn't have to put in a bill or anything. I was very, very hungry and I was thinking about getting married. So I kept the road pretty hot between home and Canal Street. I would go in for that almighty check, go home and do the work, bring it in and get another check and pick up another story. [The actual cross street to Lafayette was Spring Street, not Canal.]

Davis was particularly noted for his depiction of the Crypt-Keeper in the horror comics, revamping the character's appearance from the more simplistic Al Feldstein version to a tougher, craggier, mangier man with hairy warts, salivating mouth and oversized hands and feet, who usually did not wear shoes. Among the classic horror tales he illustrated were "Foul Play", which was cited in Dr. Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent for its depiction of "a comic book baseball game". Others, like "Tain't the Meat, It's the Humanity", "Death of Some Salesman", "Fare Tonight Followed by Increasing Clottiness", "Tight Grip" and "Lower Berth", were Crypt-Keeper classics. He did the covers for every issue of Crypt from issue No. 29 to No. 46. In his work for Harvey Kurtzman's war comics, he tackled a variety of subjects and had a particular affinity for depicting American Civil War stories. He also did many covers for Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales and Incredible Science Fiction as well. The editors, William M. Gaines, Albert B. Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman, have said he was the fastest artist they had in those days, completely penciling and inking three or more pages a day at times. His use of the brush to create depth and mood was unique and memorable. His wrinkled clothing, scratchy lines, and multi-layered layouts were so popular in the 1950s that other artists at rival companies began copying the style—notably, Howard Nostrand in Harvey's horror comics.[6] In the late 1950s, Davis drew Western stories for Atlas Comics. His 1963 work on the Rawhide Kid (#33–35) was his last for non-humor comic books.

His style of wild, free-flowing brushwork and wacky characters made him a perfect choice when Harvey Kurtzman launched Mad as a zany, satirical EC comic book in 1952. He appeared in most of the first 30 issues of Mad, all 12 issues of Panic and even some work in Cracked. Davis contributed to other Kurtzman magazines—Trump, Humbug and Help!—eventually expanding into illustrations for record jackets, movie posters, books and magazines, including Time and TV Guide. In 1959, he completed an 88-card set of humorous cartoons for Topps Chewing Gum Co. called Wacky Plaks, also a 66-card monster-themed set called "You'll Die Laughing", and a 66-card set of Funny Valentine cards. In 1960, Davis illustrated another 66-card set of Funny Valentine cards and in 1961, a set of Giant Funny Valentine cards. In 1964, he illustrated a set of Nutty Awards postcards, also released by Topps Chewing Gum Co., and in 1980 he helped illustrate a set of Topps Bazooka Wanted Posters. Davis illustrated two children's picture books, Bobby and the Magic Pen and The Misadventures of Don Quixote (both still available online). He also has a first-published book of his sketches on Amazon, "The Jack Davis Sketchbook of Untold Spooky Ghost Stories". Davis enjoyed his sketches more than his final artwork because he felt it represented his creative talents.

In 1961, Davis wrote, drew and edited his own comic book, Yak Yak,[7] for Dell Comics. In 1965, he illustrated Meet The North American Indians by Elizabeth Payne, published by Random House as part of their children's Step Up Books line. (ISBN 0-394-80060-5).

Davis' art appeared in 29 of the first 31 issues of Mad, totaling 66 articles, covers and house ads. But when editor Harvey Kurtzman quit the magazine following a dispute with publisher Bill Gaines, Davis chose to leave with him. He returned as a regular contributor to Mad magazine in 1965, starting with the cover for the paperback It's a World, World, World, World MAD, in which he parodied his own poster art for the comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Davis would remain with Mad for more than 30 years until his retirement. His work appeared in 211 of the next 255 issues. He also drew 14 covers for the magazine.

Davis had a regular comic strip feature, Superfan, in Pro Quarterback magazine in the early 1970s. It was written by his Mad cohort, Nick Meglin.[1]

### Advertising and magazines

[edit]

Davis first worked with TV Guide in 1965, which hired him to illustrate an expansive eight-page advertising supplement for NBC's TV lineup, which featured icons such as Johnny Carson, Dean Martin, and fictional characters such as Dr. Kildare, Napoleon Solo, and Maxwell Smart. His first cover for the magazine came in 1968, when he depicted a tribute to Andy Griffith, in which the actor was hoisted on the shoulders of his costars, Don Knotts and Jim Nabors. Davis recalls, "Every assignment was a thrill because TV Guide was the top magazine in the country. I couldn't wait to get in my little MG and drive from New York out to the magazine's offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania, to show the editors my latest design. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world." Davis would contribute 23 covers for TV Guide between 1968 and 1981. In 2013 the magazine honored him in a retrospective in which it recounted his history with the publication and spotlighted some of his most memorable covers, including those depicting Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (March 28, 1970), Davis's childhood hero Bob Hope for a cover on Hope's history with the Oscars (April 10, 1971), and Bonanza (August 14, 1971). Years later, while watching a TV interview of Hope, Davis was gratified to notice that his Hope cover was displayed on the back wall of the comedian's office; "it was one of the proudest moments of my life," recalled Davis.[2]

Davis created the cartoon bee which (in decal form) appears on the flanks of all the buses in the Bee-Line running from Westchester to New York City. A Westchester resident at the time, Davis lived directly adjacent to one of the Bee Line's bus routes, and he mentioned in an interview how gratifying it was to see his own artwork drive past his window several times every day. Similar synchronicity happened when Mad moved to 1700 Broadway, where the magazine's fifth-floor production department was next to a wall three feet away that had previously been the location of an immense Davis cartoon for a bank, an advertisement that towered six stories over 53rd Street.[citation needed]

### Films, posters and cover art

[edit]

Like fellow Mad alumnus Paul Coker Jr., Davis also contributed to Rankin-Bass productions; his character designs are featured in Mad Monster Party?, Coneheads, and the cartoon series The King Kong Show, The Jackson 5ive, and The Osmonds. For Raid insecticide, Davis created the animated bug that screamed "Raid?!" Phil Kimmelman Associates created several commercials designed by Davis and animated in his style.

Davis produced the artwork for the poster for the comedy chase film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). In 2014, he remembered an experience from that year: "My dad had Parkinson's disease, and he paid me a visit. He really had not been to New York in—well, ever—and he came out of the station and saw the signboard [advertising the film], very big signboard in Times Square. That was a big thrill. Little old me ..."[8]

Two years later, he parodied his own Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World image for the cover of the Mad paperback It's a World, World, World, World Mad, his first work for the magazine following an almost seven-year hiatus. Having returned, Davis would remain a regular freelancer for more than thirty years. When the Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014, Davis provided new illustrations for the accompanying booklet.

Davis's artwork for the comedy Western Viva Max! (1969) formed the centerpiece of that film's promotional campaign, and he did the same for the film Kelly's Heroes in 1970. His poster for Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) presented the film in a comic light.

In 1963, Davis produced a work of cover art for the Richard Wolfe album, Many Happy Returns of the Day! released by MGM Records, and designed the Homer and Jethro album, Homer and Jethro Go West (RCA Victor).

In 1964, Davis created the cover art for The New Christy Minstrels album for Columbia Records which featured songs from the light-hearted Western comedy Advance to the Rear.

In 1966, Davis created the cover art for the Johnny Cash album Everybody Loves a Nut. Davis also created album artwork for such musicians as The Guess Who, Tito Puente, Sailcat and The Cowsills, as well as for such comedians as Bob and Ray, Archie Campbell, Don Imus and Myron Cohen. He also provided the artwork for several of Sheb Wooley's comic albums as his character Ben Colder.[9] In 1974, Davis provided artwork for Atco Records' printed advertisements of the Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

During his tenure with Mad, Davis's specialty was drawing sports-themed articles. This led to his work for Paramount Pictures, painting the poster for The Bad News Bears (1976).

### Mascot

[edit]

While Davis resided on St. Simons Island, Georgia, he sketched various characters and mascots for the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, Georgia. His drawing of the Mariner, Captain Jack, was ultimately selected by the college students and staff as the official school mascot.[10]

## Personal life and death

[edit]

Davis grew up and went to college in Georgia. Following his professional career in New York, Davis and his wife Dena moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia, in the 1990s. They raised two children: daughter Katie Davis Lloyd and son Jack Davis III, who gave the cause of his father's death on July 27, 2016, at age 91 as complications from a stroke.[11]

## Awards and exhibitions

[edit]

Davis was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2003.[7] He received the National Cartoonists Society's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. A finalist for inclusion in the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, 1991, and 1992, he received the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising Award for 1980 and their Reuben Award for 2000.[7] He was award the Inkpot Award in 1985.[12]

In June 2002, Davis had a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Society of Illustrators in New York. He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 1989, Davis was commissioned by the United States Postal Service to design the 25-cent Letter Carriers stamp. There was some concern that the cartoon would offend some letter carriers as being too informal and not respectful of their position. However, the president of the Letter Carriers Union gave his blessing, and the stamp was well received. Although postal policy does not allow artists to portray living persons on stamps, one of the carriers in the stamp is an unmistakable self-portrait of Davis.[7]

In 2019, Davis was posthumously awarded the Inkwell Awards Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award for his lifetime of work in the inking field.[13]

## See also

[edit]

* List of TV Guide covers
* Richard Amsel
* Frank McCarthy
* Bob Peak
* Drew Struzan
* Howard Terpning

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Meglin, Nick (1973). The Art of Humorous Illustration. Watson-Guptill. ISBN 978-0823002696.
2. ^ a b c Logan, Michael (March 11, 2013). "Cast of Caricatures". TV Guide: 23. ISSN 0039-8543.
3. ^ Richmond, Tom (December 2, 2014). "Happy Birthday Jack Davis!". Richmond Illustration Inc!.
4. ^ "Jack Davis". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
5. ^ Bennett, Bruce (December 3, 2011). "A Really Quick Draw on Pop Culture". The Wall Street Journal.
6. ^ Stewart, Bhob (Summer 1974). "Graphic Story Magazine Interview: Howard Nostrand". Graphic Story Magazine (16): 21–39.
7. ^ a b c d McMillan, Graeme (July 27, 2016). "Jack Davis, 'MAD' Magazine Cartoonist, Dies at 91". Hollywood Reporter (Obituary). Retrieved August 12, 2016.
8. ^ Skillman, Eric. "Working with Jack Davis". The Criterion Collection.
9. ^ "Album Covers by Jack Davis - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music.
10. ^ Deen, Nathan (February 9, 2015). "Official mascot revealed at Coastal Georgia homecoming". The Brunswick News.
11. ^ Zraick, Karen (28 July 2016). "Jack Davis, Part of Mad Magazine's Usual Gang of Idiots, Dies at 91". The New York Times. p. A18.
12. ^ "Inkpot Award". Comic-Con International: San Diego. December 6, 2012.
13. ^ Almond, Bob (13 April 2019). "2019 INKWELL AWARDS VOTING RESULTS AND CEREMONY". www.firstcomicsnews.com.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Davis.

* Jack Davis at American Art Archives
* Spotlight on Jack Davis at RankinBass.com
* Jack Davis's Mad contributions at MadCoverSite.com
* Jack Davis discography at Discogs
* Jack Davis at IMDb
* Jack Davis at Find a Grave

* v
* t
* e

EC Comics

Publications|

| Pre-Trend
(1944–1950)|

* Blackstone the Magician
* Gunfighter
* Land of the Lost
* Moon Girl

|

New-Trend
(1950–1955)|

* Tales from the Crypt
* The Haunt of Fear
* The Vault of Horror
* Weird Fantasy
* Weird Science
* Crime SuspenStories
* Shock SuspenStories
* Two-Fisted Tales
* Frontline Combat
* Mad
* Panic
* Piracy
* Weird Science-Fantasy
* Three Dimensional E.C. Classics

New Direction
(1955)|

* Impact
* Valor
* Extra!
* Aces High
* Psychoanalysis
* M.D.
* Incredible Science Fiction

Picto-Fiction
(1956)|

* Confessions Illustrated
* Crime Illustrated
* Shock Illustrated
* Terror Illustrated

Oni Press
(2024-2025)|

* Epitaphs From the Abyss
* Cruel Universe
* Shiver SuspenStories
* Cruel Kingdom
* Blood Type
* Catacomb of Torment
* Cruel Universe II

People|

| Publishers
and editors|

* Johnny Craig
* Colin Dawkins
* Al Feldstein
* Max Gaines
* William Gaines
* Harvey Kurtzman
* John Severin

|

Writers|

* Robert Bernstein
* Otto Binder
* Ray Bradbury
* Johnny Craig
* Colin Dawkins
* Jerry DeFuccio
* Harlan Ellison
* Al Feldstein
* Gardner Fox
* Daniel Keyes
* Harvey Kurtzman (Harvey Kurtzman's editorship of Mad)
* Jack Mendelsohn
* Jack Oleck
* John Putnam
* John Severin
* Carl Wessler

Artists|

* Dave Berg
* Sid Check
* Gene Colan
* Johnny Craig
* Reed Crandall
* Jack Davis
* Will Elder
* Ric Estrada
* George Evans
* Al Feldstein
* Frank Frazetta
* Harry Harrison
* Russ Heath
* Graham Ingels
* Jack Kamen
* Roy Krenkel
* Bernard Krigstein
* Joe Kubert
* Harvey Kurtzman
* Howard Larsen
* Sheldon Moldoff
* Ben Oda
* Joe Orlando
* Fred Peters
* George Roussos
* John Severin
* Marie Severin
* Alex Toth
* Angelo Torres
* Ed Wheelan
* Al Williamson
* Basil Wolverton
* Tatjana Wood
* Wally Wood

See also|

* Russ Cochran
* Comics Code Authority
* EC Archives
* The EC Artists' Library
* Grant Geissman
* David Hajdu
* Maria Reidelbach
* Bhob Stewart
* Lyle Stuart
* Fred von Bernewitz

* v
* t
* e

Mad

General|

* History of Mad
* Recurring features
* Alfred E. Neuman
* Fold-in
* Spy vs. Spy

Editors|

* Harvey Kurtzman
* editorship
* Al Feldstein
* Nick Meglin
* John Ficarra

Lists|

* Film spoofs
* TV show spoofs

Television shows|

* Mad TV
* episodes
* Mad
* episodes

Related|

* Berlin v. E.C.
* EC Comics
* Mad Kids
* The Mad Show
* Maria Reidelbach
* Planet Tad
* Potrzebie
* Up the Academy
* William Gaines
* Al Jaffee

* v
* t
* e

Contributors to Mad

* "The Usual Gang of Idiots"

Publisher|

* William M. Gaines (1952–1992)

Editors|

* Harvey Kurtzman (1952–1956)
* editorship
* Al Feldstein (1956–1984)
* John Ficarra (1984–2017)
* Nick Meglin (1984–2004)
* Joe Raiola (1984–2017)
* Bill Morrison (2017–2019)
* Allie Goertz (2018–2019)

Writers|

* Tony Barbieri
* Dick DeBartolo
* Desmond Devlin
* Michael Gallagher
* Stan Hart
* Frank Jacobs
* Tom Koch
* Arnie Kogen
* Paul Laikin
* Barry Liebmann
* Larry Siegel
* Lou Silverstone
* Mike Snider

Writer-Artists|

* Sergio Aragonés
* Dave Berg
* John Caldwell
* Jerry DeFuccio
* Duck Edwing
* Al Jaffee
* Peter Kuper
* Don Martin
* Paul Peter Porges
* Antonio Prohías

Artists|

* John Putnam (Art Director, 1954–1980)
* Tom Bunk
* Bob Clarke
* Paul Coker
* Jack Davis
* Mort Drucker
* Will Elder
* Frank Kelly Freas
* Drew Friedman
* Bob Jones
* Hermann Mejía
* Norman Mingo
* Joe Orlando
* Tom Richmond
* Jack Rickard
* John Severin
* Bob Staake
* Angelo Torres
* Rick Tulka
* Sam Viviano
* James Warhola
* Basil Wolverton
* Monte Wolverton
* Wally Wood
* George Woodbridge
* Bill Wray

Infrequent contributors|

* Stan Freberg
* Russ Heath
* Donald Knuth
* Ernie Kovacs
* Jay Lynch
* Henry Morgan
* Roger Price
* Irving Schild
* Bernard Shir-Cliff

Related|

* Alfred E. Neuman
* Maria Reidelbach

* v
* t
* e

Inkpot Award (1980s)

1980|

* Terry Austin
* Murray Bishoff
* Pat Boyette
* John Byrne
* National Film Board of Canada
* Ernie Chan
* Chris Claremont
* Shary Flenniken
* Mike Friedrich
* Rick Geary
* Don Glut
* S. Gross
* Al Hartley
* B. Kliban
* Jerry Muller
* Joe Orlando
* Fred Patten
* Don Phelps
* Richard Pini
* Wendy Pini
* David Raskin
* Scott Shaw!
* Jim Shooter
* John Stanley
* B. K. Taylor
* Osamu Tezuka
* Adam West
* Wally Wood

1981|

* Jerry Bails
* L. B. Cole
* Jim Fitzpatrick
* Dick Giordano
* Dave Graue
* Paul Gulacy
* Mary Henderson
* Karl Hubenthal
* Bil Keane
* Frank Miller
* Doug Moench
* Monkey Punch
* Dennis O'Neil
* Gary Owens
* Richard Rockwell
* Allen Saunders
* Julius Schwartz
* Mike Sekowsky
* Bill Sienkiewicz
* Dave Sim
* Alex Toth
* Morrie Turner
* Bill Woggon

1982|

* Bob Bindig
* Brian Bolland
* Russ Cochran
* David Cockrum
* Max Allan Collins
* Chase Craig
* Archie Goodwin
* Mike Grell
* Bruce Hamilton
* Jack Katz
* Howard Kazanjian
* Hank Ketcham
* Walter Koenig
* Richard Kyle
* Lee Marrs
* Frank Marshall
* John Pound
* Tony Raiola
* Steven Spielberg
* Leonard Starr
* Robert Williams

1983|

* Douglas Adams
* Maeheah Alzmann
* Jim Aparo
* Don Bluth
* Floyd Gottfredson
* Norman Maurer
* George Pérez
* Arn Saba
* Dan Spiegle
* Joe Staton
* James Van Hise
* Cat Yronwode

1984|

* Murphy Anderson
* Román Arámbula
* Greg Bear
* Fae Gates Desmond
* Stan Drake
* John Field
* Rick Hoberg
* Greg Jein
* Ollie Johnston
* Brant Parker
* Robert Shayne
* Curt Swan
* Frank Thomas
* Jim Valentino
* Al Williamson

1985|

* Brent Anderson
* Ben Bova
* David Brin
* Jack Cummings
* Jack Davis
* Alan Moore
* Dan O'Bannon
* Tom Orzechowski
* John Rogers
* Alex Schomburg
* Walt Simonson

1986|

* Poul Anderson
* Marion Zimmer Bradley
* Dave Gibbons
* Jean "Moebius" Giraud
* Gilbert Hernandez
* Jaime Hernandez
* Denis Kitchen
* Steve Leialoha
* Marty Nodell
* Harvey Pekar
* Mark Stadler
* Dave Stevens

1987|

* Steve Ditko
* Harlan Ellison
* Larry Geeck
* Ward Kimball
* Deni Loubert
* Bill Messner-Loebs
* Mike Peters
* Bill Schanes
* Steve Schanes
* Robert Silverberg
* Art Spiegelman
* Bernie Wrightson
* Ray Zone

1988|

* Frank Alison
* Robert Asprin
* Mike Baron
* Lynda Barry
* John Bolton
* Jules Feiffer
* Raymond E. Feist
* Matt Groening
* Gary Groth
* George R. R. Martin
* Mike Pasqua
* Steve Rude
* Marie Severin
* Matt Wagner

1989|

* Richard Alf
* Robert Crumb
* Howard Cruse
* Kevin Eastman
* Lee Falk
* Ron Goulart
* Walt Kelly
* Peter Laird
* Syd Mead
* Andre Norton
* Jerry Robinson
* Diana Schutz
* Janet Tait
* Ron Turner
* Gahan Wilson

* Complete list
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s

* v
* t
* e

Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame

1958–1959

| 1958|

* Norman Rockwell

|

1959|

* Dean Cornwell
* Harold von Schmidt

1960–1969

| 1960|

* Fred Cooper

|

1961|

* Floyd Davis

1962|

* Edward A. Wilson

1963|

* Walter Biggs

1964|

* Arthur William Brown

1965|

* Al Parker

1966|

* Albert Dorne

1967|

* Robert Fawcett

1968|

* Peter Helck

1969|

* Austin Briggs

1970–1979

| 1970|

* Rube Goldberg

|

1971|

* Stevan Dohanos

1972|

* Ray Prohaska

1973|

* Jon Whitcomb

1974|

* Charles Dana Gibson
* Tom Lovell
* N. C. Wyeth

1975|

* Bernie Fuchs
* Maxfield Parrish
* Howard Pyle

1976|

* Harvey Dunn
* John Falter
* Winslow Homer

1977|

* J. C. Leyendecker
* Wallace Morgan
* Robert Peak

1978|

* Norman Price
* Frederic Remington
* Coby Whitmore

1979|

* Edwin Austin Abbey
* Lorraine Fox
* Ben Stahl

1980–1989

| 1980|

* Howard Chandler Christy
* James Montgomery Flagg
* Saul Tepper

|

1981|

* Stan Galli
* John Gannam
* Frederic R. Gruger

1982|

* John Clymer
* Carl Erickson
* Henry P. Raleigh

1983|

* Franklin Booth
* Mark English
* Noel Sickles

1984|

* John La Gatta
* Neysa McMein
* James Williamson

1985|

* Arthur Burdett Frost
* Charles Marion Russell
* Robert Weaver

1986|

* Al Hirschfeld
* Rockwell Kent

1987|

* Maurice Sendak
* Haddon Sundblom

1988|

* René Bouché
* Pruett Carter
* Robert T. McCall

1989|

* Erté
* John Held Jr.
* Arthur Ignatius Keller

1990–1999

| 1990|

* Robert Riggs
* Morton Roberts
* Burt Silverman

|

1991|

* Jessie Willcox Smith
* William Arthur Smith
* Donald Teague

1992|

* Joe Bowler
* Edwin A. Georgi
* Dorothy Hood

1993|

* Robert McGinnis
* Thomas Nast
* Coles Phillips

1994|

* Harry Anderson
* Elizabeth Shippen Green
* Ben Shahn

1995|

* James Avati
* McClelland Barclay
* Joseph Clement Coll
* Frank Schoonover

1996|

* Anton Otto Fischer
* Winsor McCay
* Violet Oakley
* Mead Schaeffer
* Herbert Tauss

1997|

* Chesley Bonestell
* Joe DeMers
* Diane Dillon
* Leo Dillon
* Maynard Dixon
* Harrison Fisher
* Frank McCarthy

1998|

* Boris Artzybasheff
* Robert M. Cunningham
* Kerr Eby
* Frank Frazetta
* Edward Penfield
* Martha Sawyers

1999|

* Mitchell Hooks
* Andrew Loomis
* Antonio Lopez
* Stanley Meltzoff
* Thomas Moran
* Rose O'Neill
* Adolph Treidler

2000–2009

| 2000|

* James Bama
* Nell Brinkley
* Charles Livingston Bull
* David Stone Martin
* Alice and Martin Provensen
* J. Allen St. John

|

2001|

* John James Audubon
* Will H. Bradley
* Howard Brodie
* F. O. C. Darley
* Charles R. Knight
* Franklin McMahon

2002|

* E. Simms Campbell
* Milton Glaser
* Jean-Leon Huens
* Daniel Schwartz

2003|

* Elaine Duillo
* David Levine
* Bill Mauldin
* Jack Potter

2004|

* John Berkey
* John Groth
* Robert Andrew Parker
* Saul Steinberg

2005|

* Jack Davis
* Brad Holland
* Herbert Paus
* Albert Beck Wenzell

2006|

* Gilbert Bundy
* Bradshaw Crandell
* Keith Ferris
* Harold Foster
* Frank H. Netter
* Alvin J. Pimsler
* Jack Unruh

2007|

* David Grove
* Gary Kelley
* Edward Windsor Kemble
* Russell Patterson
* George Stavrinos

2008|

* Benton Clark
* Matt Clark
* Kinuko Y. Craft
* Naiad Einsel
* Walter Einsel

2009|

* Mario Cooper
* Paul Davis
* Laurence Fellows
* Arnold Roth
* Herbert Morton Stoops

2010–2019

| 2010|

* Charles Edward Chambers
* Earl Oliver Hurst
* Orson Lowell
* Wilson McLean
* Chris Van Allsburg

|

2011|

* Kenneth Paul Block
* Alan E. Cober
* Robert Heindel
* Fred Otnes
* Jerry Pinkney

2012|

* Ludwig Bemelmans
* R. O. Blechman
* John Collier
* Edward Gorey
* John Sloan
* Nancy Stahl

2013|

* Ted CoConis
* George Herriman
* Sanford Kossin
* Arthur Rackham
* Charles M. Schulz
* Murray Tinkelman

2014|

* Mary Blair
* Walter Everett
* Al Jaffee
* Syd Mead
* William Cameron Menzies
* Alex Raymond
* Edward Sorel

2015|

* Bernard D'Andrea
* Walter M. Baumhofer
* Will Eisner
* Virgil Finlay
* Ted Lewin and Betsy Lewin
* Pat Oliphant
* Arthur Szyk

2016|

* Marshall Arisman
* Rolf Armstrong
* Guy Billout
* Peter de Sève
* William Glackens
* Beatrix Potter
* Richard M. Powers

2017|

* Mort Drucker
* Bart Forbes
* Anita Kunz
* Ralph Steadman
* Burne Hogarth
* George Petty
* Gustaf Tenggren

2018|

* Robert Crumb
* Kate Greenaway
* René Gruau
* Jack Kirby
* Heinrich Kley
* Hilary Knight
* James McMullan
* Kay Nielsen
* C. F. Payne

2019|

* Alice Barber Stephens
* Mary Petty
* Frank Godwin
* Mark Summers
* Vincent Di Fate
* Roz Chast

2020–2029

| 2020|

* Thomas Blackshear
* Edmund Dulac
* Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (Mœbius)
* Jeffrey Catherine Jones
* Barbara Nessim
* Drew Struzan

|

2021|

* Braldt Bralds
* Margaret Brundage
* Walter Percy Day
* Dale Messick
* Craig Mullins
* Floyd Norman

2022|

* Charles Addams
* George Booth
* Emory Douglas
* Brian and Wendy Froud
* Reynold Ruffins
* Sarah S. Stilwell Weber

2023|

* Richard Amsel
* Anna Whelan Betts
* Reynold Brown
* Seymour Chwast
* Helen Hokinson
* Wendell Minor
* Barron Storey

2024|

* Steve Brodner
* Gustave Doré
* Robert Grossman
* Gregory Manchess
* Yuko Shimizu
* Virginia Frances Sterrett

2025|

* Marie Severin
* Frank R. Paul
* Peter Arno
* Tim O' Brien
* Kadir Nelson
* Rudy Gutierrez

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* 2
* VIAF
* 2
* FAST
* 2
* WorldCat
* 2

National|

* Germany
* United States
* 2
* France
* BnF data
* Australia
* Norway
* Latvia
* Israel
* Catalonia

Artists|

* ULAN
* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards

People|

* Trove

Other|

* IdRef
* 2
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
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