Barbara Shermund Obituary: A Trailblazer of Cartoon Art and Feminine Wit

Barbara Shermund (1899–1978) was more than a cartoonist—she was a revolutionary visual voice in American culture. Her passing may have occurred decades ago, but her influence continues to resonate as her work receives renewed attention, including a recent feature on CBS Sunday Morning that celebrated her trailblazing legacy in the world of cartoon art.

As one of the first women to contribute to The New Yorker—beginning with its very first year in 1925—Barbara Shermund carved a bold, irreverent, and distinctly feminine niche in the male-dominated world of magazine cartooning. Her pen captured the emerging complexities of modern womanhood in the 20th century with humor, honesty, and a knowing wink. Through her sharp lines and sharper punchlines, Shermund became an essential figure in both the golden age of magazine illustration and the evolution of feminist thought in popular media.

A New Voice for a New Woman

Born in San Francisco in 1899, Shermund came of age at a time when American women were fighting for and asserting new freedoms—in the workplace, at the ballot box, and in their personal lives. She studied at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) before moving to New York City, where she began her professional career in earnest.

Shermund’s earliest work appeared in The New Yorker during the Roaring Twenties, a time when the publication was still shaping its identity. Her cartoons, often featuring cosmopolitan women with biting wit and a hint of irreverence, quickly stood out. These were not demure damsels or decorative muses—they were independent thinkers, flirtatious cynics, and wry observers of the social hypocrisies surrounding them.

Her characters talked about sex, money, marriage, and societal expectations—subjects rarely addressed so frankly in visual media at the time. She didn’t just illustrate women’s lives—she captured their inner monologues with uncanny accuracy.

Defining a Visual Language

Shermund’s artistic style was as expressive as her characters. Her pen-and-ink drawings were fluid, elegant, and unmistakably her own. Each frame carried a sense of motion, spontaneity, and psychological depth that made her characters feel alive—relatable even now.

She contributed more than 600 cartoons and eight covers to The New Yorker from 1925 through the 1940s, and her work also appeared in publications like Collier’s and Esquire. At a time when very few women were professionally published as cartoonists, Shermund’s presence was nothing short of groundbreaking.

A Voice Lost—and Found Again

Despite her early success, Shermund’s contributions were gradually overshadowed by a new generation of male cartoonists, and her name faded from the mainstream in her later years. She passed away in relative obscurity in 1978 in New Jersey. For decades, she was remembered quietly, if at all, until a resurgence of interest in her life and work brought her back into the cultural spotlight.

In recent years, exhibitions such as “Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins” at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum have reintroduced Shermund to new audiences. These retrospectives showcase her as a vital early feminist voice who pushed the boundaries of humor, gender, and societal critique through her art.

The CBS Sunday Morning segment honoring her legacy further amplified this rediscovery, highlighting the enduring relevance of Shermund’s cartoons in today’s ongoing conversations about gender roles, societal norms, and the power of women’s voices in media.

Legacy and Influence

Barbara Shermund’s life and work remain a testament to the courage and insight of women artists who refused to be sidelined. Her cartoons were not only funny—they were daring, ahead of their time, and richly layered with commentary that challenged the status quo.

In the 21st century, her once-forgotten illustrations are now studied in university courses, collected in feminist anthologies, and admired by a new generation of artists who see in Shermund a kindred spirit—a woman who knew the world she lived in and dared to laugh in its face.

Barbara Shermund may no longer be with us, but her voice—expressed through a flick of ink and a sharp sense of humor—continues to speak volumes. She remains not just a pioneer of cartooning, but a timeless icon of wit, resilience, and artistic brilliance.