James L. Morgan's Herald Cartoons
Portraits of Political Figures
James Morgan
James Morgan was a Sociology and Economics major at Hobart College slated to graduate in 1943. While a student, Morgan was a member of Delta Phi Omega, played on the lacrosse team, and contributed art to a number of campus publications.
Inspired by Professor Kent, Morgan would create a number of woodcut works for the Hobart Herald, the Echo yearbook, and the Speculum. Notably, Morgan's numerous cartoons for the Herald, leading up to and during World War Two, reflected the political writing of his fellow classmates, and would often compliment a topic discussed in an editorial or debate.
Morgan's Work
For instance, Morgan's woodcut portrait of labor leader John Llewelyn Lewis accompanied a student debate regarding Lewis' change in endorsement from President Roosevelt to Wendell Willkie. The debate entitled, "John L. Lewis Changes Horses" had student George Palermo of the "commendable" opinion and student Joe Schlesinger on the "lamentable" side. ¹
Morgan's portrait of Joseph Stalin accompanies an editorial entitled "Drama" which questions the USSR's motives in the war. The writer states, "The USSR is the great imponderable in this play of power politics. No one knows what is behind the enigmatic smile of Stalin."²
During the 1940 Presidential election season, the Hobart Herald conducted a number of polls of Hobart students. In the poll conducted in September of 1940, Hobart students overwhelmingly chose Wendell L. Willkie over incumbent Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Morgan's work reflected this fact, publishing a portrait of Willkie with the caption "Wendell L. Willkie: Three-to-One Favorite at Hobart," in the September 20 edition. A week later, contrary to the majority opinion at Hobart, the Hobart Herald endorsed President Roosevelt. Morgan made a cartoon to accompany this endorsement entitled, "The Herald's Choice: Leads in 38 States, Trails at Hobart."³
In addition to these portraits, Morgan made a number of political cartoons beyond traditional portraiture. In the below image, Morgan depicts a Russian bear tackling Adolph Hitler on a football field, with the caption "Germany vs. USSR: Who's Getting the Worst of it?"⁴
Another such cartoon depicts a Nazi arm donning a swastika buried by the snow of an unforgiving Russian winter. This cartoon entitled "1812 Again, Somewhat Snowbound, No?"⁵ makes reference to Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, defeated in part due to the frigid Russian conditions.
Some of Morgan's cartoons would reflect more Hobart-specific occurrences. For instance, the cartoon below entitled "Mobile Unit,"depicts a sign on the door of St. John's Chapel which reads, "Closed Army Here." This illustration is in reference to the arrival of a recruiting unit the next day.⁶
Attributing Work to Morgan
One can readily observe the works of Morgan, who's artist tag appears on many of his works either as "JM" or "JAM". Some of Morgan's works had an unknown attribution until claimed by him in a letter to the editor in the Spring 1996 Pulteney Street Survey.
Life After Hobart
Morgan was considering continuing his education at an art school upon graduation. However, as he relays in a 1989 letter to HWS Medical Director Daniel Weinstock (1986-98), the war upended this possibility:
"In 1942 when I decided not to continue with my pretheolog training, Norman [Kent] urged me to go to art school. However, the war decided my fate with the draft. Marriage and children during and after the war decided the balance of my future—work and earn money."⁷
Though his dreams of pursuing art were initially dashed, Morgan kept drawing and block printing as a hobby. In the late 1960s, a friend of Morgan’s encouraged him to audit art classes at a local university. With the encouragement of his professors, Morgan pursued a BA in Art from the University of New York at Plattsburgh, graduating in 1974. For the next decade, until Morgan retired, he continued his art in addition to his work as an engineer at Bechtel, Inc. Upon retirement, Morgan pursued an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, graduating in 1987. In 1988, Morgan would be one of the principal founders of the Asheville Gallery of Art which, to this day, displays the work of professional artists in the Asheville area.
Endnotes
1. The Hobart Herald, October 31, 1940.
2. The Hobart Herald, October 26, 1939.
3. The Hobart Herald, September 26, 1940.
4. The Hobart Herald, September 12, 1941.
5. The Hobart Herald, October 30, 1941.
6. The Hobart Herald, April 17, 1941.
7. Letter to Dr. Daniel Weinstock, 1989, James L. Morgan Biographical File, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Archives.