Unpaginated. A toweringly powerful story of World War II as told through the previously ironic medium of cartoons. "Elmer Messner was born in Rochester in 1901. He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1918 and continued his studies at the Arts Student League in New York. In 1925 he returned to RIT to teach drawing. He taught there for over twenty years. He joined the staff of the Rochester Times-Union newspaper as a sport and news cartoonist in 1922. He entered the comic cartoon field by drawing a series of humorous cartoons for the Editors Feature Service entitled: "That's Not the Half of It." During Buffalo, New York's Centennial he wrote a column and drew related cartoons for the Buffalo Evening News historical series. His cartoons were widely reproduced in other newspapers and magazines across the country and abroad. Along with his cartooning, Mr. Messner wrote a rod and gun column for the Times-Union. In additions to cartooning, Messner painted in both watercolor and oils. His art works were exhibited across the country. He participated in shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Chicago of Art Institute, and Huntington Art gallery in Los Angeles. The artist had several one-man shows in Rochester and around New York State. During this career he was bestowed many awards and medals, among them included: Lillian Fairchild Award from the University of Rochester for the "trenchant ideas, cogent phrases and creative spirit in his deft drawings"; the Distinguished Alumnus award from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He received several awards from the Freedom Foundation, including five honor medals; the Christopher Award; citations from the United States Treasury and the Disabled Veterans of the World War and the New York Times Education Writer Award. Mr. Messner served as president of the Association of the American Editorial Cartoonist and also vice-president of the National Cartoonist Society. On a local note, he was vice president of the Rochester Art Club from 1944-1949 and then served as president for the organization in 1950-1952. After his retirement from the newspaper in 1964, he continued his career in the arts by painting and remaining active in the art world. Mr. Messner died of a heart attack at his home in Pittsford, NY on May 22, 1979. He was 78 years old. Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett newspaper group was quoted as describing Elmer Messner's talent as "the rare ability to reduce to a simple line, or a combination of lines, the story or an event and the feeling of the people." --University of Rochester Library
