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Ann Telnaes

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Ann Telnaes
BornAnn Carolyn Telnaes
1960
Stockholm, Sweden
NationalitySwedish / Naturalized American
Area(s)Editorial cartoonist
AwardsPulitzer Prize, 2001 Reuben Award, 2017

Ann Carolyn Telnaes (born 1960)[1] is an American editorial cartoonist. She creates editorial cartoons in various media—animation, visual essays, live sketches, and traditional print. Telnaes worked for the Washington Post until her resignation on January 3, 2025, over The Post’s refusal to run her cartoon lambasting major corporate CEOs (including Washington Post CEO Jeff Bezos)[2]. She also contributes to The Nib.

In 2001, Telnaes became the second female cartoonist and one of the few freelancers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.[3] In 2017, she received the Reuben Award, and thus became the first woman to have received both the Reuben Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.[3][4]

Biography

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Telnaes earned her B.F.A. at the California Institute of the Arts in 1985, specializing in character animation.[5] In 2020 she taught the course "Commentary Though Cartoons" as a visiting faculty member at CalArts.[6]

Before becoming an editorial cartoonist, she worked for some years in the animation field and also as a show designer for Walt Disney Imagineering.[5] She contributed to such films as The Brave Little Toaster and The Chipmunk Adventure.

In 2003, while the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was deciding the fate of same sex marriage, Telnaes stepped into the fray by creating the editorial cartoon poking fun at the historical balance of gender roles in the United States. "However, Telnaes wryly observed that the traditional view of marriage between a man and a woman has resulted in second class citizenship for many people in America for a long time."[7]

Telnaes had a solo exhibition at the Great Hall in the Thomas Jefferson Building in 2004.[5]

In 2015 a Telnaes cartoon was removed by the Washington Post from the newspaper's website. The cartoon had depicted Ted Cruz as an organ grinder with two monkeys. Telnaes defended her cartoon by tweeting, "Ted Cruz has put his children in a political ad—don't start screaming when editorial cartoonists draw them as well."[8]

In 2016–2017 Telnaes was president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.[9][10]

In 2020 her work was included in the exhibit Women in Comics: Looking Forward, Looking Back at the Society of Illustrators in New York City.[11]

In early January 2025, after many years with the Washington Post, Telnaes resigned[12] after her cartoon lampooning powerful media and tech billionaires, including Post owner Jeff Bezos,[13] Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong and Meta/Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, bending the knee to incoming president Donald Trump,[14] was nixed by the management.[15]

Personal life

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Ann Telnaes was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1960. She graduated from Reno High School, Reno, Nevada in 1979.[16] Telnaes lives in Washington, D.C.[5]

Awards

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Bibliography

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  • Humor's Edge (Pomegranate Press/Library of Congress, 2004)[17]
  • Dick: An Editorial Cartoon Collection (Ann Telnaes, 2006)[18]
  • Trump's ABC (Fantagraphics, 2018)[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Telnaes, Ann, 1960-". Library of Congress Control Number. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post".
  3. ^ a b "Pulitzer-prize winning cartoons - Humor's Edge: Cartoons by Ann Telnaes". Library of Congress. 22 June 2004. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Ann Telnaes is First Woman to Win Reuben Award and Pulitzer Prize". PR Newswire. 27 May 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e "The 2005 National Population Cartoon Contest". Population Media Center. 2004. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  6. ^ Crane, Margaret (8 June 2020). "Visiting Faculty Ann Telnaes Discusses the Future of Editorial Cartooning". 24700: News From California Institute of the Arts. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Exhibitions | Drawn to Purpose | Political Cartoonists | Perspectives on Marriage". Library of Congress. 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ^ Victor, Daniel (23 December 2015). "Ted Cruz Cartoon Is Pulled by Washington Post". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  9. ^ "About the AAEC - AAEC Officers 2016-2017 - President: Ann Telnaes". Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017.
  10. ^ Telnaes, Ann (4 January 2018). "And now, a message from President Ann Telnaes". Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Women in Comics: Looking Forward and Back". Society of Illustrators. 2020. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  12. ^ Telnaes, Ann (2025-01-04). "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post". Open Windows. Retrieved 2025-01-04. I've worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I've never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now. The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump. … Over the years I have watched my overseas colleagues risk their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives to expose injustices and hold their countries' leaders accountable. As a member of the Advisory board for the Geneva based Freedom Cartoonists Foundation and a former board member of Cartoonists Rights, I believe that editorial cartoonists are vital for civic debate and have an essential role in journalism. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |quote= at position 489 (help)
  13. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (2025-01-04). "Washington Post Cartoonist Quits After Jeff Bezos Cartoon Is Killed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  14. ^ Rice, Lynette (2025-01-04). "Washington Post Editorial Cartoonist Says She Quit After Brass Rejected Her Donald Trump Sketch". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-04. The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook & Meta founder and CEO, Sam Altman/AI CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong/LA Times publisher, the Walt Disney Company/ABC News, and Jeff Bezos/Washington Post owner.
  15. ^ Luciano, Michael (2025-01-04). "Washington Post Cartoonist Quits, Says Management Spiked Cartoon of Bezos Bending the Knee to Trump". Mediaite. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  16. ^ 1979 RE-WA-NE, RHS Yearbook
  17. ^ Telnaes, Ann; Katz, Harry L (2004). Humor's edge: cartoons by Ann Telnaes. OCLC 54499920.
  18. ^ Telnaes, Ann (2006). Dick: an editorial cartoon collection. Cartoonist. ISBN 978-0-9773284-1-3. OCLC 160070579.
  19. ^ Telnaes, Ann; Groth, Gary; Covey, Jacob (2018). Trump's ABC: con man. Fantagraphics Books. ISBN 978-1-68396-078-2. OCLC 992578898.
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