Whitney Darrow Jr. (August 22, 1909 – August 10, 1999) was a prominent American cartoonist, who worked most of his career 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 ...

'', with some 1,500 of his cartoons printed in his nearly 50-year-long career with the magazine. Gussow, Mel
"Whitney Darrow Jr., 89, Gentle Satirist of Modern Life, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 12, 1999. Accessed September 11, 2008.

Biography

Darrow was born in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, where his father Whitney Darrow was founding director of

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

. Darrow grew up in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

, where he attended

Greenwich High School Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves roughly 2,700 students. It offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-cu ...

.Memorials > Whitney Darrow Jr. '31
''Princeton Alumni Weekly'', November 3, 1999. Accessed September 12, 2008. He graduated in 1931 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he wrote humor for the ''

Daily Princetonian ''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. The newspaper is owned by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Co. and boasts a cir ...

'' and was art director for the ''

Princeton Tiger Magazine ''Princeton Tiger'' or ''Tiger Magazine'' is the second-oldest college humor magazine in the United States, published by Princeton University undergraduates since 1882. It is best known for giving the start to literary and artistic talent as wi ...

''. He honed his craft at

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

with instructors including painter Thomas Hart Benton. In his early 20s began selling cartoons to ''

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

'', ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' and '' College Humor''. As a 24-year-old in 1933, he sold his first cartoon to ''The New Yorker'', while the magazine, which had been founded in 1925, was still in its infancy. This first cartoon depicted three nudists, two women observing a man, with one woman telling the other, "Last night I saw him in a blue serge suit. Zowie!" The humor in Darrow's cartoons often focused on the absurdities and behavioral contradictions of middle-class suburban life, and featured characters such as judges, windbags, individuals in varying states of drunkenness, children and art. A classic Darrow depicts a group of small schoolchildren observing

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

's '' Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'' (The Luncheon on the Grass), depicting a female nude with two fully dressed men, being told in explanation by their adult guide that "Well, it was sort of like a cook-out."Hawtree, Christopher
"Whitney Darrow: A quiet, small-town homebody whose satirical cartoons added a streak of pessimism to the New Yorker"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', August 21, 1999. Accessed September 12, 2008. He published four collections of his cartoons, ''You're Sitting on My Eyelashes,'' ''Give Up?'', ''Stop, Miss'' and ''Please Pass the Hostess.'' He illustrated children's books and other books written by such authors as

Nathaniel Benchley Nathaniel Goddard Benchley (November 13, 1915 – December 14, 1981) was an American author from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Robert Benchley (1889–1945), a noted American wri ...

Jean Kerr Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins; July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an American author and playwright who authored the 1957 bestseller '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hearts'' in 1954 and '' Mary, Mary'' in 196 ...

, and

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

. A master draftsman who (unlike most of his colleagues) wrote his own captions, Darrow was among the last of the New Yorker's early cartoonists, joining

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Family, and were subsequently populari ...

Peter Arno Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. (January 8, 1904 – February 22, 1968), known professionally as Peter Arno, was an American cartoonist. He contributed cartoons and 101 covers to ''The New Yorker'' from 1925, the magazine's first year, until 1968, the ...

George Price George Price may refer to: * George Price (footballer) (c. 1878–1938), footballer * George Price (cartoonist) (1901–1995), American cartoonist * George Cadle Price (1919–2011), prime minister of Belize * George E. Price (1848–1938), membe ...

and

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

. Darrow retired from the magazine in 1982. Darrow died in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

. He and his wife Mildred lived in

Shelburne, Vermont Shelburne is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermon ...

References

External links

Gallery of classic graphic design featuring the illustrations of Whitney Darrow.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darrow, Whitney Jr. 1909 births 1999 deaths American magazine cartoonists American humorists American satirists The New Yorker cartoonists People from Shelburne, Vermont Artists from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Greenwich High School alumni