George Clark, “The Ripples,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1949; © 1949 News Syndicate Co., Inc.; (Courtesy, Special Collections Room, Glendale Public Library)

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“When we found ourselves in the funny papers, Ansel and I realized we had arrived.”

Artistic acclaim and celebrity manifest in many forms. But I ask you, what could be more auspicious than a nod from a nationally syndicated comic strip? Especially when that strip commands a half-page in the Sunday color comics! Such was the case on 27 February 1949 when cartoonist George Clark conjured both Edward Weston and Ansel Adams as models for an aspiring photographer in his popular weekly strip, “The Ripples.” A bemused Weston clearly appreciated the “honor.” On a visit to Weston’s home a year later, San Francisco Chronicle arts columnist Kevin Wallace noticed the clipping sitting on a table and recorded Weston’s response to it: “When we found ourselves in the funny papers, Ansel and I realized we had arrived.”^[2]

Continue reading “8 July 2021: Cartoon Fame for Edward Weston and Ansel Adams” →