The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is again accepting applications for its graduate fellowship. The Swann Foundation awards one fellowship annually (with a stipend of $15,000) to assist continuing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. Completed applications are due Feb. 15, 2000, and notification will occur in May 2000. The fellowship covers the 2000-2001 academic year.
To be eligible, one must be a candidate for an M.A. or Ph.D. degree in a university in the United States, Canada or Mexico and working toward the completion of a dissertation or thesis for that degree, or be engaged in postgraduate research within three years of receiving an M.A. or Ph.D. Although research must be in the field of caricature and cartoon, there is no limitation regarding the place or time period covered. Since the Fund encourages research in a variety of academic disciplines, there is no restriction upon the university department in which this work is being done, provided the subject pertains to caricature or cartoon art.
In the interest of increasing awareness and extending documentation of Library of Congress collections, fellows are required to make use of the Library's collections, be in residence for at least two weeks during the award period and deliver a public lecture on his or her work in progress at that time. Finally, recipients must provide a copy of their dissertation, thesis, or postgraduate publications, upon its completion, for the Swann Foundation Fellowship files.
New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Carciature and Cartoon in 1967. An avid collector, Swann assembled a large group of original drawings by 400 artists, spanning two centuries, which his estate bequeathed to the Library of Congress in two installments in 1974 and 1977. Swann's original purpose was to compile a collection of original drawings by significant humorous and satiric artists and to encourage the study of original cartoon and caricature drawings as works of art. The stress on original works serves two purposes: to preserve work that is too often lost or casually destroyed and to afford the opportunity to judge draftsmanship, subtlety of line and wash in the artist's original work instead of the reproduction which, while retaining its message, loses graphic quality.
The Foundation's support of research and academic publication is carried out in part through a program of fellowships. Applicants are invited to write to the Foundation, with a statement of qualifications, needs and a budget. These grants are intended to assist ongoing research and writing projects in the specific areas of interest to the Foundation. The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, now administered by the Library of Congress, is overseen by an advisory board composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. Its activities support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world.
More information is available through the Foundation's Web site: www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swannhome.html, by e-mailing: swann@loc.gov, or by calling Sara Duke in the Prints and Photographs Division at (202) 707-9115.