Harrison Cady

(1877-1970)

For his cartoons of Peter Rabbit and other lovable woodland animals, and for most of his similarly amusing artwork, Walter Harrison Cady painted with a lightness of touch and a colorful palette.

Cady was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, and during World War I he practiced his skills as a political cartoonist. Along with Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965), a childrens� nature book author, Cady created more than 3,000 illustrations of furry creatures in their native wildlife habitat. To his artistic credit, magazines such as LIFE, the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and the Ladies Home Journal featured his illustrations on their covers over the years. Harrison Cady exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the 1939 New York World�s Fair, and he became a member of the American Society of Etchers and the American Watercolor Society.

Harrison Cady�s favorite painting medium was a mixed one, often beginning a composition with pencil or ink, then adding watercolor or oils, depending on whether he was using paper, panel or canvas. For �Turkeys Enjoying Thanksgiving� Cady included a menu in the composition for the whimsical ink on paper cartoon.

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