Editorial artist Auth, master of commentary, craft

Over four decades, Tony Auth became such a fixture on the editorial pages of The Inquirer that one assumed he would be there forever. But nothing is forever, certainly not in daily journalism.

Auth is still drawing his inimitable wit and wisdom, but now he's doing so digitally, for WHYY/Newsworks. He also still draws for national syndication.

Among American editorial artists now and then, Auth is top rank, not only for the pungency and relevance of his commentary but also because of his masterly graphic facility. He just draws better than most of his contemporaries.

It's fitting that an art museum should take note of his exceptional achievement - 41 years of meeting daily deadlines at the most demanding professional level. So kudos to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown for putting together a cross-section of his work going back to the early 1970s.

The exhibition is important not only because it honors Auth, but also because it affirms the idea that popular graphic art like his belongs in a museum. Auth excelled not only because he made us chuckle, but also because he made us think, as the most talented and effective editorial artists have always done.

Guest-curated by David Leopold, the show contains more than 100 original drawings (a term I prefer to "cartoons") organized by theme. Among these are illustrations for children's books and a comic strip.

The themes include Vietnam, civil rights, foreign affairs, the environment, and the foibles of various presidents - all multifaceted topics that Auth had to condense visually into a single panel.

The exhibition reveals that Auth got better as he got older. His drawing style became more refined and distinctive as his moral outrage became more acute.

For instance, one of my favorite drawings in the show is "Penn State Kickoff" from November 2011. A small boy holds a football for a placekick; a figure representing the university then boots the lad, not the ball, into the stratosphere.

As we see in this exhibition, Auth usually hit the ball squarely, with flair, wit, and power.