William 'Bill' Mauldin, 1921-2003

By Toby Berryman

Spring is Here, 1944-5, charcoal and ink on paper

Despite its historical longevity, wide circulation, and appreciative audiences, the discipline of cartooning (and to a lesser extent, illustration) is often neglected by academic Art History. Whereas the greats of painting from Leonardo Da Vinci to Jean-Michel Basquiat, sculptors like Barbara Hepworth, and even filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan are household names, cartoonists have instead received the cold shoulder. One such unsung, or at the least under-sung, figure is the American cartoonist William ‘Bill’ Mauldin, born 102 years ago this week.

Mauldin was undoubtedly a contemporary celebrity and accomplished a great deal over the course of his storied career which spanned more than six decades. He was twice awarded The Pulitzer Prize, twice featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, received the Legion of Merit, was promoted to the honorary rank of First Sergeant, authored a bestselling book, starred in films directed by multi-Academy-Award-winners Fred Zinnemann and John Huston, featured in almost twenty of Charles Schulz’s Snoopy comic strips, and was even included on a USPS postage stamp. Yet both Mauldin’s name and work continue to be overlooked by students and scholars of History of Art.

It was in wartime that Mauldin and his cartoons found their greatest fame. Serving as an enlisted soldier in the 45th Infantry Division afforded him an intimate understanding of the intricacies of life for the so-called ‘regular G.I.’ and his sardonic humour grew from the unit’s own voluntary newspaper to Stars and Stripes, the daily national paper for American military personnel. It was here that he developed the archetypal infantry characters Willie and Joe, whose unshaven, weary, and dispirited appearance was especially well-received on the World War II frontlines for its unbiased realism. As the American war effort rumbled on, Mauldin’s celebrity surged. His work, despite its increasingly bleak and critical outlook, was credited by future President Eisenhower as vital to troop-morale, carried in seventy-nine daily US publications, and seen by thousands of further soldiers in Europe. Mauldin was even provided with a personal military jeep to collect material and travel amongst his fellow troops at ease. Acting as a quasi-official War Artist for the infantry, Mauldin was not steered by propagandising and was very much a fellow soldier first and foremost. The fighting cartoonist endeared himself to the allied forces in battle, his own experience at Monte Cassino in 1943 earning him The Purple Heart, a military decoration for soldiers wounded in action. Mauldin’s work was authentic and, thus, appreciated. His wartime cartooning, focused on the exploits of Willie and Joe, won him his first Pulitzer Prize at the age of twenty-three, making him at the time the youngest ever recipient.

Weeping Lincoln, 1963, charcoal and ink on paper

With the conflict’s conclusion in 1945, Mauldin continued working on editorial cartoon assignments alongside a burgeoning superstar status which saw him take up acting and even an unsuccessful campaign for a Congressional seat. By 1959, he had won a second Pulitzer Prize, whilst his 1962 Weeping Lincoln was a poignant icon amidst the volatility of the Kennedy assassination, printed in-full across the back page of The Chicago Sun-Times. As his artistic career abated in later life, Mauldin returned to his first passion of writing, the very discipline which had introduced him to the world of print journalism (and consequently, cartoons), aged fifteen at Phoenix Union High School in Arizona.

Mauldin was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on the 29th of January, 2003, occupying a military grave wholly fitting for the soldier-cum-cartoonist who had entertained an entire nation at war.

Bibliography

Army Historical Foundation. “Bill Mauldin, 1921-2003”. On Point 8, No. 4 (Winter 2002-2003): 1-8.

DePastino, Todd and Hanks, Tom. Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin. Chicago: Pritzker Military Museum & Library, 2020.

Ebert, Roger. “Features: Bill Mauldin, American”. RogerEbert.com. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.rogerebert.com/features/bill-mauldin-american.

Katz, Donald, R. “Bill Mauldin: Drawing Fire, The Cartoonist’s 35-Year Fight for Truth”. Rolling Stone. November 4, 1976. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/bill-mauldin-drawing-fire-55910/. (Accessed October 20, 2023).

Mauldin, Bill. Up Front. New York City: Henry Holt & Company, 1945.

Painton, Frederick C. “Up Front With Bill Mauldin”. The Saturday Evening Post. March 17, 1945.

Severo, Richard. “Bill Mauldin, Cartoonist Who Showed World War II Through G.I. Eyes, Dies at 81”. New York Times, National Edition. January 23, 2003. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/arts/bill-mauldin-cartoonist-who-showed-world-war-ii-through-gi-eyes-dies-at-81.html. (Accessed October 21, 2023).