Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search results

McCutcheon, John T. (John Tinney), 1870-1949

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: May 6, 1870 - June 10, 1949

Biographical Information

John Tinney McCutcheon was born on May 6, 1870 near South Raub in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. His parents were Civil War veteran Captain John Barr McCutcheon, Sheriff of Tippecanoe County, and Clara (Glick) McCutcheon. Young John McCutcheon spent his early childhood in the rural areas surrounding Lafayette, Indiana. He had two brothers, George Barr McCutcheon and Ben F. McCutcheon, and one sister, Jessie McCutcheon (Nelson). His brother George Barr would later earn fame as a novelist.

McCutcheon entered Purdue University and was a founding member of the University's first fraternity, Sigma Chi. He was also a co-editor of the University's first yearbook, the Debris.

After graduating from Purdue with a B.S. degree in 1889, McCutcheon moved to Chicago and was hired to work for the Chicago Morning News (later known as the Chicago Record) as an artist. He began doing front page cartoons for the newspaper in 1895. In 1903, McCutcheon joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune and served in capacities as both an editorial cartoonist and occasional foreign correspondent until his retirement in 1946. As a cartoonist, much of his work appeared on the front pages of the Chicago Tribune, and the subject matter of his cartoons included issues on local, national, and international politics, war, journalism, societal changes, and economic hardships. McCutcheon traveled a great deal during his career, and covered many political events such as presidential campaigns, the Spanish-American War, and World War I.

In 1932, McCutcheon was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for his work titled "A Wise Economist Asks a Question." McCutcheon also created illustrations for his friend George Ade, a fellow Hoosier, Purdue Sigma Chi member, and Purdue graduate; the illustrations appeared in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, as well as books written by Ade. Due to the wide exposure and success of his professional work, McCutcheon is often referred to as the Dean of American Cartoonists.

McCutcheon married Evelyn Shaw on January 20, 1917, and they had four children (John Jr., Shaw, Barr, and Evelyn, who died as a small child). The couple owned a small island in the Bahamas, Salt Cay, which the family referred to as Treasure Island. Following his death in 1949, McCutcheon's widow Evelyn distributed his vast collection of original drawings to various institutions in the Midwest, including Purdue University. Evelyn McCutcheon also contributed to the posthumous publication of John McCutcheon's autobiography, Drawn from Memory.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

John T. McCutcheon cartoons and drawings

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSA 1
Scope and Contents The John T. McCutcheon Cartoons and Drawings (1903-1945; forty-two oversized boxes) consist of drawings and sketches created by John McCutcheon throughout his career at the Chicago Tribune, as well as some print versions of his cartoons. The cartoons cover a wide variety of subjects relating to United States history, documenting daily life and political matters from the early 1900s through the 1940s. Some of the many subjects include: railroads, Woodrow Wilson, Uncle Sam, John Purdue, Purdue...
Dates: 1903-1945

John T. McCutcheon papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSA 278
Abstract Sketches, Purdue-related documents, and information files about McCutcheon's cartoons. Box 11: McCutcheon's handwritten account of the origins of Injun Summer and The Hunter's Moon (original pencil notes in JTM's hand); McCutcheon's handwritten account of the origins of Bird Center cartoons (original pencil notes in JTM's hand); Prints (reproductions) and newspaper clippings of some of McCutcheon's popular cartoons, circa 1930s; Sketches, original pen and ink drawings for Ade's Pink Marsh,...
Dates: 1897-1979

Joe McCutcheon collection of John T. McCutcheon printed material

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: MSP 274
Scope and Contents This collection consists of four matted and framed front pages of the Chicago Sunday Tribune publications that featured John T. McCutcheon cartoons during 1929 and 1939. More specifically, the McCutcheon cartoons included in this collection are: "Jack Frost" (1922), "Some of the Permanent Exhibits Chicago will be able to show the World's Fair Visitors" (1933), "Injun Summer" (1912), and "The Colors" (1917). The collection was donated by Joe McCutcheon (no relation to John T. McCutcheon). The...
Dates: 1929 - 1939