SU to host NYC exhibition by cartoonist Boris Drucker

SU to host NYC exhibition by cartoonist Boris DruckerMarch 11, 2005Edward Byrnesedbyrnes@syr.edu

The Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at Syracuse University’s Joseph I. Lubin House will present a major retrospective exhibition of works by cartoonist Boris Drucker, March 21-April 29. The exhibition, titled “‘Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s 90% water’: The Cartooning Career of Boris Drucker,” is free and open to the public. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Lubin House is located at 11 East 61st St., Manhattan.

For more than a half-century, Philadelphia native Drucker has earned a livelihood-and a national reputation-as a cartoonist working in variety of media. His drawing style and humor are familiar to generations of readers of such diverse magazines as the Saturday Evening Post, Playboy, Family Circle and the New Yorker. Throughout his career, Drucker has also worked as a commercial artist for corporate clients in advertising and industry, winning awards for his contributions to Bell Telephone’s “Call By Number” advertisements in the 1950s and other campaigns.

Drawing on the extensive archives he donated to the SU Library’s Special Collections Research Center, the exhibition documents the full span of Drucker’s career as a graphic artist, including art school drawings, World War II sketchbooks from India, early advertising assignments, and many published and unpublished cartoons. All are filled with Drucker’s characteristically sympathetic humor, which is rooted in the shared human condition. The collection is the main repository for Drucker’s extensive personal archives, which include more than 12,000 “rough” drawings as well as examples of his published cartoons and commercial artwork and correspondence. Most of the 70 items featured in the exhibition are drawn from the library’s archives, with additional material on loan from the artist.

The exhibition is complemented by a 56-page illustrated catalog, featuring a biographical essay by Johanna Drucker, the artist’s daughter-a noted book artist, scholar and critic. A limited number of complimentary copies of the catalog will be available at the exhibition. Additional copies may be purchased by contacting the SU Library at (315) 443-9763.

An invitation-only opening reception with Drucker will be held March 23 from 6-8 p.m. at Lubin House. Members of the press may attend by calling Anne Auchincloss at (212) 826-1449.