Hometown artist

October 29, 2008 — Source: Naperville Sun, The (IL) — Author: Sun Staff

The works of longtime Naperville resident Dick Locher, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and artist for the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, will be featured in a monthlong exhibit in North Central College's new Schoenherr Art Gallery, Monday thru Dec. 4.

"The Art of Dick Locher: Dick Tracy, Political Cartoons and Beyond," is a free exhibit that will showcase selected political cartoons, comic strip and fine arts pieces, including bronze castings, in Schoenherr Art Gallery at the College's new Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. The gallery will be open weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and one hour before most performing arts events in the Fine Arts Center, including weekends.

The public is invited to meet Locher at an artist's reception in Schoenherr Art Gallery from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Locher is recognized worldwide as a cartoonist and commentator on the American scene, North Central said in a news release. His unerring ability to capture the absurdities of life through his political cartoons garnered him a Pulitzer Prize in 1983.

A leading editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Tribune since 1973, his cartoons are nationally syndicated by Tribune Media Services and have appeared in Life, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, Playboy, The Congressional Record and hundreds of newspapers throughout the world.

Since 1983 Locher has been the artist of the "Dick Tracy" comic strip and in 2005 took over as both writer and artist. He assisted Dick Tracy's originator Chester Gould from 1957 to 1961.

Locher studied art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art and the Art Center of Los Angeles. Over the years, he has appeared on nationwide TV programs including "20/20," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Good Morning America" in connection with both his editorial cartoons and comic strip.

In 1999, he appeared on "America's Most Wanted," working with the FBI to draw its 10 most wanted criminals in the "Dick Tracy" strip. In 1986, with members of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, Locher founded the John Locher Memorial Award contest. The contest honors the memory of his son, John, and helps discover and support aspiring cartoonists. Since its inception, 22 outstanding young cartoonists have won the competition, among them Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Breen. Locher has received many awards throughout his career, which also includes painting and sculpting, and was recently named to the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame.

Dick Locher, a local artist who draws the "Dick Tracy" comic strip as well as being a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, will be featured in North Central College's new art gallery.

Beacon News file

Section: AROUND TOWN — Page: 9