Winsor McCay His Life and Art

This volume is the only existing biography of one of America's greatest and most influential cartoonists. Winsor McCay (1867-1934) is universally acknowledged as the first master of both the comic strip and the animated cartoon. Although invented by others, both genres were developed into enduring popular art of the highest imagination through McCay's innovative genius. Included are new materials found since the previous publication of the book such as new comic strips of Little Nemo in Slumberland, and new sketches of Gertie the Dinosaur. Key Features In the book the author reviews and fully analyzes mcCay's achievements in print and film while examining his work in relation to his life, family, and to American culture and values of the period. This painstakingly thorough biography begins with mcCay's childhood in Michigan to his seat as one of the greatest of the early animators. Originally published in 1987, it is now back in print in a new expanded and revised edition. Included are new amterials found since the previous publication of the book such as new comic strips of Little Nemo inSlumberland and new sketches of Gertie the Dinosaur.

FOREWORD BY MAURICE SENDAK PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AUTHOR INTRODUCTION Phase One: 1867 to 1903 CHAPTER 1. MICHIGAN YEARS CHAPTER 2. CHICAGO TO CINCINNATI CHAPTER 3. CINCINNATI YEARS Phase Two: 1903 to 1911 CHAPTER 4. NEW YORK AND THE GREAT COMIC STRIPS CHAPTER 5. SHEEPSHEAD BAY CHAPTER 6. VAUDEVILLE CHAPTER 7. LITTLE NEMO ON BROADWAY Phase Three: 1911 to 1934 CHAPTER 8. ANIMATED FILMS CHAPTER 9. A HEARST MAN CHAPTER 10. AFTER MCCAY NOTES CHRONOLOGY SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

John Canemaker is an internationally recognized animator, author, teacher, and animation historian. THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION, his 28-minute autobiographical film, won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Animated Short and a 2006 Emmy Award. He has designed and directed animation for numerous commercial projects, including the Warner Bros. feature The World According To Garp; TCM's Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood; and CBS' Break the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse, which have won for their sponsors an Oscar, Emmy Awards, Ace Award and Peabody Award. He is the recipient of grants from the American Film Institute, PBS, and a Rockefeller Foundation Residency Grant in Bellagio, Italy.His independently-produced animated shorts, which are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and on a Milestone Films DVD titled John Canemaker: Marching to a Different Toon. One of America's most respected animation historians, Canemaker is the author of twelve acclaimed books, including "Winsor McCay: His Life and Art," “The Art and Flair of Mary Blair,” and "The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney's Movie Magic." His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Print magazine.A tenured professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he began teaching animation in 1980, Canemaker has directed the Animation Program since 1988. He was Acting Chair of the NYU Undergraduate Film and Television Department from 2001-2002. The John Canemaker Animation Collection, part of the Fales Collection in Bobst Library at New York University, is an archival resource that opened to scholars and students in 1989. Professor Canemaker was a 2009 Recipient of NYU's Distinguished Teaching Award for "exceptional teaching inside and outside the classroom."