- Price, George
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▪ 1996U.S. cartoonist (b. June 9, 1901, Coytesville, N.J.—d. Jan. 12, 1995, Englewood, N.J.), as a longtime contributor (1926-95) to The New Yorker magazine, depicted the absurdities of human nature in distinctive drawings that were characterized by bold lines and a minimal use of shading; these images were usually accompanied by a clever, succinct caption. His attention-grabbing cartoons, which featured feuding couples often beset by domestic mishaps or victims of natural disasters coping with tragedy in an amusing way, helped modernize the magazine cartoon. Another theme—totally unreasonable persons stubbornly clinging to power—was a hallmark of his work. Price honed his craft while working as a freelance illustrator, advertising artist, and printmaker. His fresh approach to the changing mores of society during his six-decade career kept him in the vanguard of his profession. His priceless witticisms were collected in 11 volumes, including Good Humor Man (1940), Who's in Charge Here? (1943), The People Zoo (1971), Browse at Your Own Risk (1977), and his last, The World of George Price: A 55-Year Retrospective (1988).
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▪ American artistborn June 9, 1901, Coytesville, N.J., U.S.died Jan. 12, 1995, Englewood, N.J.American cartoonist (cartoon) whose work, characterized by witty, imaginative drawing and brief, often one-line captions, helped to modernize the magazine cartoon.As a young man Price did odd jobs in printing offices and did freelance illustrations. During the 1920s he was active in advertising art. Much of the humour in his cartoons lay in having a character respond rationally to a wildly improbable situation. His first success, for example, was a series involving the droll responses of a man floating in air.In 1926 Price became a contributor to The New Yorker. Many of his cartoons also appeared in Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post. Popular collections of his cartoons were published, beginning with Good Humor Man (1940) and including Who's in Charge Here? (1943), My Dear 500 Friends (1963), The People Zoo (1971), Browse At Your Own Risk (1977), and The World of George Price (1987).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
