The Library's Prints and Photographs Division is home of the Caroline
and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature 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 Valtman online presentation is one of a dozen offered by the division at its "Exhibitions and Online Presentations" page. Here, you can enjoy the remarkable work of artists such as Al Hirschfeld, Bill Mauldin, Chic Young and Pat Oliphant. More images can also be found in the Prints
and Photographs Online Catalog.
If the history of caricature and cartooning is of interest, the 1998 Library of Congress- National Portrait Gallery joint conference, "Caricature and Cartoon in Twentieth Century America" may be for you. You can read what experts had to say at this conference as well as visit a complementary exhibition that was mounted at the Portrait Gallery.