Young, Art, 1866-1943

Art Young (1866-1943) was a leading socialist cartoonist and humorist whose work appeared in The Masses (1910-1917) and elsewhere. He was born in Monroe, Wisconsin, studied at the Academy of Design in Chicago, where he first illustrated news stories and saw his cartoons published in various newspapers. In 1895 Young moved to New York where his work was published in Life and where he became a socialist and, in 1910, one of the founding members of the artists and writers cooperative that produced The Masses, a socialist monthly. Young's work was among that cited by the U.S. government as being in violation of the World War I-inspired Espionage Act. Young's work also appeared in The Liberator (1918-1924), which he helped establish, his own radical humor magazine, Good Morning (1919-1921), the New Leader, the New Masses, The Nation, and elsewhere.

From the guide to the Art Young Papers, Bulk, 1924-1944, 1891-1955, (Bulk 1924-1944), (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

Art Young (1866-1943) was a leading socialist cartoonist and humorist whose work appeared in The Masses (1910-1917) and elsewhere. He was born in Monroe, Wisconsin, studied at the Academy of Design in Chicago, where he first illustrated news stories and saw his cartoons published in various newspapers. In 1895 Young moved to New York where his work was published in Life and where he became a socialist and, in 1910, one of the founding members of the artists and writers cooperative that produced The Masses, a socialist monthly. Young's work was among that in The Masses cited by the U.S. government as being in violation of the World War I inspired Espionage Act. Young's work also appeared in The Liberator (1918-1924), which he helped establish, his own radical humor magazine, Good Morning (1919-1921), the New Leader, The Nation, and elsewhere.

From the description of Papers, 1913-1955 (bulk 1924-1944). (New York University, Group Batchload). WorldCat record id: 60862185

Art Young, cartoonist and author.

From the description of Art Young correspondence, 1891-1943. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702193301

Art Young (1866-1943) was an American cartoonist and active in the socialist movement.

Born in 1866, Young grew up in Monroe, Wisconsin and had his first illustrations published at the age of seventeen. He studied at the Academy of Design in Chicago while working as an illustrator of news stories for the Chicago Evening Mail, but in 1895 he moved to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League and began to move towards a more radical political viewpoint.

By 1902 Young's work was so highly valued that newspapers and magazines were willing to accept his drawings attacking inequality and supporting causes he believed in, such as women's rights. In 1910 Young went to work for the Socialist magazine The Masses, where he was free to fully express his radical views. Despite a libel charge in 1913 and The Masses' loss of their mailing privileges in 1917 for their outspoken opposition to World War I, Young continued to draw "inflammatory" cartoons for the magazine until it ceased publication in 1918. He went on to do cartoons for The Liberator and Good Morning, both of which he had helped establish, as well as for the Saturday Evening Post, the Nation, New Masses and the New Leader .

Young, after running for the New York State Assembly with the Socialist Party in 1913, illustrated work for other Socialist Party candidates. He published his well-known autobiography, Art Young: His Life and Times, in 1939, which also features a selection of his cartoon artwork.

Art Young died in 1943.

"I think we have the true religion. If only the crusade would take on more converts. But faith, like the faith they talk about in the churches, is ours and the goal is not unlike theirs, in that we want the same objectives but want it here on earth and not in the sky when we die." [Art Young, in an interview with Gil Wilson, 1940]

From the guide to the Art Young Collection, circa 1919-1939, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)