Willard Mullin (1902-1978)
Sports World
American: c. 1938
Pen and ink, blue and black pencil or conte on paper
Signed and dedicated lower left.
17 x 17 1/2 inches
$950
Sports Cartoon
Willard Mullin
Willard Mullin
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Carciature cartoons on one sheet of various aspects of the world of sports, summarizing important sporting events, about 1937-1938. Possibly drawn for the New York World-Telegram newspaper, where Mullin worked as the sports cartoonist beginning in 1934, or for other periodical publication. The vignettes are being dug up a perspiring laborer with a world globe head, whose hat identifies him as the personification of the "Sports World." They are drawn in Mullins' signature style, which combined realistic rendering of the type seen in the globe's face with the linear style seen in the vignettes -- a fluid and deceptively simple approach incorporating witty exaggerations that conveyed the spontaneity and action. The scenes include:
- "The Yanks just about finished wrapping up the American League flag with two wins over the As"
- Cubs, Reds and Dodgers baseball
- Col. Roscoe Turner, Thompson Trophy Air Race
- Vic Ghezzi and Ben Hogan, Golf
- Isolater, Horse Races Aqueduct
- Old Westbury, Polo
- Don Budge, Davis Cup
- Count Theo Rossi di Montelera, Boat Racing
Willard Mullins began his cartooning career in 1923 at the Los Angeles Herald, eventually becoming the sports cartoonist for the New York World-Telegram in 1934. He is generally regarded as the "Dean of Sports Cartooning" and mentor to a younger generation of cartoonists. After the demise of the World-Telegram in 1966, Mullin worked as a freelance cartoonist for sports publications, books, and magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Time and Life. He received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award, and his baseball work in particular is highly valued by collectors.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual light toning, wear, soiling, soft creases.
Reference:
"Willard Mullin: The Dean of American Sports Cartooning." Bob Staake. http://www.bobstaake.com/willardmullin/home.html (18 July 2002).