Robert Carter

Robert Carter (1875-1918) was born and raised in Chicago. In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, he was the youngest of five sons, and later a daughter. His father was a contractor and builder. Carter began his career in Chicago as a sketch artist, until a move to New York City in 1910, courtesy of William Randolph Hearst and the New York American. Robert Carter was better known in his day as an editorial cartoonist, and he was a spectacular one. His lush detailed drawings, mostly for Hearst and then later for the Philadelphia Press, were widely admired and reprinted.
Regarded as one of America’s great cartoonists, Carter’s work included strip comics and political cartoons that showcased his knowledge of composition and anatomy. He was well-known for covering feminist issues, suffrage and historical figures. He worked for a number of newspapers including the Globe, the Sun (New York), and the Philadelphia Press. Robert Carter's career was cut short when he died suddenly at the young age of 44 in 1918.
Robert Carter drawings consists of two political cartoons regarding World War I: The Czar of All the Russians (ink) & The Grenadiers (pen & ink). These came from the Elmer Messner collection (which we’ll look at on Friday), presumably as a gift from Carter or collected by Messner.