On the ground floor of this transformed former dairy, the cartoons are displayed chronologically, starting with the early eighteenth-century when high-society types back from the Grand Tour introduced the Italian practice of the caricatura to polite society. From Hogarth the displays move on to British cartooning's 'golden age' (1770-1830). 'Modern times' covers political wartime cartoons and social commentary produced between 1914 and 1961. The 'new satire' section – works published from 1961 onwards – includes Ralph Steadman, Steve Bell, Dave Brown, Matt and others. Downstairs the artists' names are immediately recognisable; upstairs – where comic strip art such as 2000AD, the Dandy and the Beano is displayed – is much more about the characters portrayed: Rupert, Dan Dare, Judge Dredd… The Young Artists' Gallery will be used to include underground work with a less 'authorised' feel, designed to appeal to younger audiences, and a workshop space will be used to instruct children in the art of animation and claymation. The excellent shop is recommended, as is the library where – by appointment – you can search, the catalogue of some 3,000 books.
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