Clare A. Briggs

Biography

Clare Briggs was a world famous cartoonist and illustrator who joined the New York Tribune (and its successor, the Herald Tribune) in 1914. He remained there until his death in 1930. His cartoons were syndicated in 125 newspapers across the country. He began his career as a political cartoon artist with the St. Louis Chronicle at $25 a week, covering the Spanish-American War. When the war ended, so did his job. He moved to New York to study art at the Pratt Institute. He worked several menial jobs before landing a job at the New York Journal. While he was at the Journal, He was sent to cover a sensational trial and when he turned in his sketches to a night editor, he was told, "You're no sketch artist -- you're a cartoonist." The night editor devoted a full half-page to the drawings and a few weeks later William Randolph Hearst sent Briggs to Chicago, where for the next seven years he served on the Chicago American and Examiner. He stayed in Chicago for 7 years before returning to New York. Much of his cartoon subject matter was based on his childhood memories and friends while growing up in Reedsburg. "When a Feller Needs a Friend," "Ain't It a Grand and Glorious Feeling?" and "The Days of Real Sport," were reader favorites.