Ward Sutton is an American
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
,
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 comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary an ...
and
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...
born in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...
and based in
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The ci ...
. His comic strip, "Sutton Impact" (formerly "Schlock 'n' Roll"), was published in ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' from 1995 to 2007. In 2018, Sutton won the
Herblock Prize for his work.
Sutton's editorial cartoons have appeared regularly in the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' since 2008.
Career
Sutton has contributed cartoons and illustrations to the
op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...
pages of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'', ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'', ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' and ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...
''. He also illustrates and writes a parody
political cartoon for ''
The Onion
''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August ...
'' under the pseudonym of "Stan Kelly", depicting the wrong-headed one-panels of an ultraconservative middle-aged cartoonist.
According to ''Onion'' President Sean Mills in an interview with ''
Wikinews'', the cartoon has generated "a lot of heat."
[ An interview with The Onion, David Shankbone, '' Wikinews'', November 24, 2007.] "He has a very unique take on what is going on in the world," said Mills, "and it does tend to upset some people, but that's the job of an editorial cartoonist, to be a provocateur."
[
In addition to his work for print media, Sutton designed the animation for the opening credits of the television show '']Strangers with Candy
''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...
'', and has created animation for HBO, VH-1, and TV Land
TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...
. He has also designed silk-screened posters for a variety of musical acts, including Beck, Radiohead, Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended Jam session#Rock, jams, blending of Music genre, genres, and a dedicated Fandom, fan base. The band consists of guitari ...
, and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...
.
Sutton drew a 2017 editorial cartoon critical of a tax cut for millionaires, choosing to depict Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns th ...
, who is Jewish, in a manner that some commentators found anti-Semitic.
In the 1990s Sutton worked for some time as editorial cartoonist at ''High Times Magazine''.
Awards
Sutton won the Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning in 2018. His win that year was reflective of a growing acceptance of multi-panel editorial cartooning. After winning the award, Sutton quipped that then president Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
could benefit from editorial cartoons, saying "They’re shorter than the presidential briefings that he reportedly has no patience for. Plus, most these days are focused on his favorite subject — ''himself''!
In 2022 Sutton received the Berryman Award for political cartooning from the National Press Foundation.
Personal life
After living in New York City for many years, Sutton and his wife decided to move to Costa Rica, where they stayed for two years before deciding to move to Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The ci ...
.
References
External links
Sutton Impact Studio
Weekly cartoon
Biography of Mark and Ward Sutton
2005 radio interview with Ward Sutton
American cartoonists
Artists from Minneapolis
Artists from New York City
Living people
Mad (magazine) cartoonists
The New Yorker cartoonists
St. Olaf College alumni
The Onion people
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{US-cartoonist-stub