Exhibition Catalogs
Exhibition Catalogs not only demonstrate Cruikshank’s staying power, but they are also great places to view reproductions of his works. Many also include pertinent essays dealing with different aspects of Cruikshank’s life or career.
Andrews, Nathalie
T. and Margaret M. Bridwell. The
Inimitable George Cruikshank: An
Exhibition of Illustrated Books, Prints, Drawings, and Manuscripts from the
Collection of David Borowitz, J B Speed Art Museum, October 12 – November 15,
1968 with an Essay by Richard A. Volger. Louisville,
KY: University of Louisville Libraries, 1968.
ART NC242.C7 I5
This is a catalog
from the J B Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
It is good not only for illustrations of Cruikshank’s work, but also
for several portraits of him. It
also includes a great bibliography that includes lots of unique items including
exhibition announcements from Victorian Journals and obituary notices.
Crown, Patricia.
British Comic Art, 1730-1830, From the Yale Center for British Art.
Columbia, MO: Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of
Missouri-Columbia, 1988.
ART NC1477.C6 M874 1988
This exhibit focuses on a century of British comic art before Cruikshank’s career had barely begun. It is interesting to compare the content of these works with the work of Cruikshank and his contemporaries. Two early pieces by Cruikshank, done in his early twenties are also included in the show, and show the impact that earlier comic artists had on his work.
English Caricature
1600 to the Present: Caricaturists and Satirists, Their Art, Their Purpose and
Influence. London: Victoria and
Albert Museum, 1984.
ART NC1470.E63 1984
This exhibition
catalog is so long, it could easily be mistaken for a book about the subject.
It includes great illustrations, both in black and white and in color, as
well as a short introduction to each artist in the catalog, or one of his works.
This work concludes with an excellent bibliography.
Feaver, William.
George Cruikshank: An
Exhibition Held in London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 28 February – 28 April
1974. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1974.
ART CAGE NC1479.C9 F42
This is the catalog
from a traveling exhibit organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,
and includes a unique actual-size color reproduction of the small book entitled,
“The Tooth-Ache… Imagined by Horace Mayhew and realized by George
Cruikshank.” It is a great
example of what some of Cruikshank’s published works might have looked like.
George Cruikshank,
Printmaker, 1792-1878: Selections from the Richard Volger Collection:
An Exhibition. Santa
Barbara: The Museum, 1978.
ART NE2047.6.C77 A4 1978
This catalog is from
an exhibition of works from one of Cruikshank’s most well known collectors,
Richard Volger. It includes an
interesting essay from Volger about his reflections on Cruikshank and his art.
The illustrations are primarily in black and white.
George Cruikshank
1792-1878: Karikaturen zur
Englischen und Europaischen Politik und Gessellschaft im Ersten Viertel des 19.
Jahrunderts. Stuttgart: G. Hatje,
1983.
ART NC1479.C9 A4 1983
This work is in
German, but it is worthy of mention because it has wonderful illustrations in
color of his caricatures. It is from an exhibit at the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum, an
example that Cruikshank’s acclaim as an artist has spread beyond England and
the United States.
Steinberg, Norma S.
Monstrosities and Inconveniences: Works by George Cruikshank from the
Worcester Art Museum. Worcester, MA: The
Museum, 1986.
ART NC1479.C9 S745 1986
This catalog is from
an exhibit held in 1987 at the Worcester Art Museum of works donated to the
museum in 1934. This exhibition was
one of the first times the works had been displayed as a group. The catalog is
notable for its clearly written explanations of some of Cruikshank’s comic
illustrations.