Arthur Sylvanus Bimrose, known as "Art," was the editorial cartoonist for the Oregonian for more than three decades. He was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1912, and his family moved to Portland when he was five years old. After graduating from Grant High School, he studied for a year at the San Francisco Art Institute; briefly attended the University of Oregon; and did contract artwork in both San Francisco and Portland. In 1937, the Oregonian hired him part-time to work on printing plates. His career was interrupted by World War II, when he was drafted in the U.S. Army and served in the South Pacific. Following the sudden death of Oregonian cartoonist (and Bimrose cousin) Ralph Lee in 1947, Bimrose was hired as the Sunday editorial cartoonist. When longtime editorial cartoonist Quincy Scott retired in 1949, Bimrose became the paper's primary cartoonist.
Unlike his predecessor Scott, who had been a conservative Republican, or his successor, the more liberal Jack Ohman, Bimrose was not notably partisan, although his cartoons tended to lean Republican, in accordance with the Oregonian's overall editorial stance. Many of his cartoons included an "everyman" figure, depicted as a mustached man wearing a battered fedora and with a drooping cigar in his mouth.
Among Bimrose's accolades were awards from the Freedoms Foundation, an organization that promoted patriotism and free enterprise. When he officially retired in October 1983, the City of Portland proclaimed an Art Bimrose Appreciation Day.
Bimrose had one son, Jack, with his wife, Olga Ann Radilovich. Bimrose died in Portland, Oregon on September 7, 1998, at the age of 86.
The collection consists of political cartoons dating from Bimrose's later years as the Oregonian newspaper's editorial cartoonist. Notable topics depicted include: the eruption of Mt. St. Helens; the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan; the death of Oregon governor Tom McCall. The collection also holds two mat frames with cartoons for the 1976 and 1980 United States presidential elections. Each frame holds two cartoons each, as Bimrose would draw one cartoon for each candidate, and publish the cartoon for the winner of the election.
Collection is open for research.
Selected Art Bimrose cartoons, Coll 787, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Cartoons largely arranged in chronological order.
Gift of the Oregonian Editorial department, care of Giselle V. Price, November 18, 1998.
The bulk of Bimrose's cartoons are designated Coll 618, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.