Roz Chast (born November 26, 1954) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

and a staff cartoonist for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. Since 1978, she has published more than 1000 cartoons in ''The New Yorker''. She also publishes cartoons in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'' and the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

''. In recognition of her work,

ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance is an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the categ ...

listed Chast as one of twelve women cartoonists deserving of lifetime achievement recognition. She was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2010. In May 2017, she received the Alumni Award for Artistic Achievement at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

commencement ceremony. In 2024, Chast was awarded a

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the humani ...

by President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Early life and education

Chast grew up in the

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, the only child of George Chast, a high school French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

teacher'','' and Elizabeth, an assistant principal in an elementary school. Her Jewish parents were children during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and she has spoken about their extreme frugality.Audio (MP3)
/ref> She graduated from

Midwood High School Midwood High School is a high school located at 2839 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, administered by the New York City Department of Education. It has an enrollment of 3,938 students. Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic order, Ioni ...

in Brooklyn, and attended

Kirkland College Kirkland College was a small, private liberal arts women's college located in Clinton, New York, from 1965 to 1978. It was a female counterpart to Hamilton College, at that time all male, and its campus was adjacent to Hamilton's. It was named ...

(which later merged with

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

). She studied at the

and received a BFA in painting in 1977. She also holds honorary doctorates from

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, and the Art Institute of Boston at

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1909 to educate teachers. Originally founded as a women's college, male students were admitted beginning in 2005. History 1909–1998 Th ...

;''The Masters Series: Roz Chast'' exhibition catalogue (New York: School of Visual Arts, 2018). and is a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

Career

Chast's subjects often deal with domestic and family life. In a 2006 interview with comedian

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

for

the New Yorker Festival ''The New Yorker'' Festival is an annual event organized by ''The New Yorker'' magazine. It is held in venues in and around New York City, typically in early October, bringing together "a who's-who of the arts, politics and everything in between." ...

, Chast revealed that she enjoys drawing interior scenes, often involving lamps and accentuated wallpaper, to serve as the backdrop for her comics. Her comics reflect a "conspiracy of inanimate objects", an expression she credits to her mother. Her first ''New Yorker'' cartoon, ''Little Things'', was sold to the magazine in April 1978. The cartoon, which Chast describes as "peculiar and personal", shows a small collection of "Little Things"—strangely named, oddly shaped small objects such as "chent", "spak", and "tiv". Her ''New Yorker'' cartoons began as small black-and-white panels, but increasingly used more color and often appeared over several pages. Her first cover for ''The New Yorker'' was the August 4, 1986 issue. Chast has written or illustrated more than a dozen books, including ''Unscientific Americans'', ''Parallel Universes'', ''Mondo Boxo'', ''Proof of Life on Earth'', ''The Four Elements'' and ''The Party After You Left: Collected Cartoons 1995–2003'' (Bloomsbury, 2004). In 2006, ''Theories of Everything: Selected Collected and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978–2006'' was published, collecting most of her cartoons from ''The New Yorker'' and other periodicals. One characteristic of her books is that the "author photo" is always a cartoon she draws of, presumably, herself. The title page, including the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

cataloging information, is also hand-lettered by Chast. Her book, '' Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?'' is a graphic memoir, combining cartoons, text, and photographs to tell the story of an only child helping her elderly parents navigate the end of their lives. On October 30, 2024, Chast was awarded a

by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

for "deepen ngthe nation's understanding of the humanities and broad ningour citizens' engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects". President

presented the medal to Chast.

Personal life

Chast lives in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is an affluent New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and on the New York state border, Ridgefield had a population o ...

with her husband, humor writer Bill Franzen. They have two children.

Exhibitions

* ''"The Masters Series: Roz Chast"'' at

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in New York City (2018) * ''"Cartoon Memoirs"'' at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (2017) * ''"Cartoon Memoirs"'' at the

Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...

(2016) * ''"Cartoon Memoirs"'' at the

Norman Rockwell Museum The Norman Rockwell Museum is an art museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States, dedicated to the art of Norman Rockwell. It is home to the world's largest collection of original Rockwell art. The museum also hosts traveling exhibition ...

(2015)

Awards

* 2024

* 2012 NYC Literary Honor in Humor * 2013 Inducted,

* 201
Kirkus Prize
winner for ''Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?'' * 2014

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

* 2015 20th Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Foundations, Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Eco ...

for the Arts and Humanities * 2018

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee

Bibliography

Articles and comic strips

* * * * Online version is titled "Epilogue : time to say goodbye". * Title in the online table of contents is "The cartoonist as junior-high student". * Online version is titled "A Coney Island Father’s Day memory". * Online version is titled "A few food 'poems'".

Books

* * * * * * ''Mondo Boxo'' (Harper, 1987) * ''The Four Elements'' (Harper, 1988) * ''Proof of Life on Earth'' (Harper, 1991) * ''Childproof'' (Hyperion, 1997) * ''The Party, After You Left'' (Bloomsbury, 2004) * ''Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006'' (Bloomsbury, 2008) * ''Too Busy Marco'' (Atheneum, 2010) * ''What I Hate: From A to Z'' (Bloomsbury, 2011) * ''A Friend for Marco'' (Atheneum, 2012) * ''Marco Goes to School'' (Atheneum, 2012) * ''Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?'' (Bloomsbury, 2014) * ''Roz Chast: Cartoon Memoirs'' (Norman Rockwell Museum, 2015) * ''Around the Clock'' (Atheneum, 2015) * ''The Best American Comics 2016'' (editor) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016) * ''Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York'' (Bloomsbury, 2017) * Marx, Patricia. ''You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time'' (illustrated by Roz Chast), (New York: Celadon Books, 2020) * ''I Must Be Dreaming'' (Bloomsbury, 2023) ——————— ;Notes

References

External links

*
Video: Roz Chast interview with comedian Steve Martin at the 2006 New Yorker FestivalInterview with Roz Chast in ''Newsday'', 2006Interview with Roz Chast on NPR's "Fresh Air," 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chast, Roz 1954 births American female comics artists American women editorial cartoonists American magazine illustrators American magazine cartoonists The New Yorker cartoonists Jewish American comics artists Jewish American editorial cartoonists Jewish humorists Rhode Island School of Design alumni People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Artists from Ridgefield, Connecticut Midwood High School alumni American women humorists Harvey Award winners Members of the American Philosophical Society Kirkus Prize winners American editorial cartoonists Living people