author
W. A. (William Allen) Rogers
1854–1931
A self-taught cartoonist from Ohio, he became one of the best-known political illustrators of his day, drawing for major American magazines and newspapers. His work mixed sharp commentary with an eye for storytelling, and he even followed troops in the field as an artist-correspondent.
1 Audiobook
America's Black and White Book: One Hundred Pictured Reasons Why We Are At War
by W. A. (William Allen) Rogers
About the author
Born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1854, he taught himself to draw after studying for a time at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Wittenberg College without taking a degree. His first cartoons appeared when he was still a teenager, and by age 19 he had begun professional newspaper work.
His career grew quickly through the Daily Graphic in New York and then Harper's Weekly, where he succeeded Thomas Nast as the magazine's chief cartoonist. He also contributed illustrations and cartoons to publications including Harper's Magazine, Life, Century, St. Nicholas, and later the New York Herald, becoming widely known for political cartoons as well as scenes of the American West.
He worked not only in the studio but also as a reporter-artist, traveling with military expeditions and covering major public events through drawings. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1931, leaving behind a large body of illustrations, posters, and editorial cartoons that capture the look and arguments of American public life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.