Exhibit Details
September 5 - November 29, 2020
Weisel and Kelly Galleries
Robert “Bob” Palmer was Springfield’s longest-working cartoonist, creating over 10,000 political cartoons for the Springfield News-Leader beginning in April 1953 through July 1991. Palmer was the last local cartoonist; since his retirement, the paper has moved to syndicated cartoons. His political cartoons poked fun at everyone from Springfield City Council members to Presidents Nixon and Reagan and covered issues ranging from peace negotiations in the Middle East to Springfield’s landfill concerns.
Palmer began his cartooning career in 1945 working as a ghost artist on Will Eisner’s comic strip The Spirit. He also drew political cartoons for the New York Daily News before moving to Springfield in 1953 to take over as in-house political cartoonist. He retired from the Springfield News-Leader in 1991 and passed away in 1999.
In 2008, Palmer’s family gifted the Museum over 1,000 original cartoons, first made for the News-Leader. An additional thirty cartoons were gifted in 2018. This treasure trove traces local, national, and worldwide issues covering eight U.S. presidents, seven Missouri governors, and numerous local personalities.
Exhibit Resources
View the Exhibition Photo Album
View the Exhibition Preview Video
Program Details
Sketches From Springfield: A Cartoon History
In this 30 minute video presentation, Springfield-Greene County Library District's Local History Associate Konrad Stump explores the lives of Springfield's remarkable cartoonists and shares how they shaped the telling of Springfield's history.
Curator's Tour & Discussion
In this 6 minute video presentation, Curator of Art Sarah Buhr discusses broad themes presented in the exhibition and briefly discusses several works on view with Bob Palmer's son Rob Palmer.
This & That: Cartoons by Bob Palmer is generously underwritten by the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Foundation.
