Although comics have never been considered “fine art,” they have occupied museum spaces since the late 20th century into the 21st century. Here are some of the most famous cartoon and comics exhibitions from around the world: 

1897: The Yellow Kid; d’Louver Art Gallery

             One of the first known instances of a comic strip in a museum is when prints of Richard F. Outcault’s Hogan’s Alley toured around Europe, and spent a day in the d’Louver Art Gallery in 1897. The strip, Hogan's Alley, included Outcault’s famous character, “Yellow Kid”, who was one of America’s most famous comic strip characters at the time. 

1967: Bande Dessinée et Figuration Narrative; Cavalcade of American Comics

             The Bande Dessinée et Figuration Narrative (Comics and Narrative Figuration) was an exhibition held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France. Curated by Socerlid, a French association focused on the study of comic strips in French culture, it was one of the first ever major exhibitions devoted to comics as a form of art. The exhibition was specifically focused on American comics and narrative art and was an  extremely successful exhibition, with approximately 500,000 attendees let in to view the show. According to Bart Beatty in Comics Versus Art, “The photographic enlargement makes it possible to free the comic strip from the small size that stifles it and to exhibit it in the visual dimensions of the works of art to which the public is accustomed” (Beatty 193)

1983: The Whitney’s Comic Art Show 

             In the summer of 1983, the Whitney Museum of American Art held their Comic Art Show. The exhibition was co-curated by John Carlin and Sheena Wagstaff, both curators having extensive research and education in the topic of comic art. According to Bart Beatty in Comics Versus Art, this exhibition was, “One of the first exhibitions to feature comics at a major American art museum” (Beatty 191), and is also known for being one of the first exhibitions to ever showcase graffiti and post-modern art. The exhibition included work from famous comic strip artists, such as Ernie Bushmiller, Milton Caniff, Winsor McCay, Robert Crumb, George Herriman, Gary Panter, Richard Outcault, Art Spiegelman, Lyonel Feininger, and more. The exhibition also featured infamous pop and post-modern art from artists such as Roger Brown, Oyvind Fahlstrom, Steve Gianakos, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenberg, Mel Ramos, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reindhardt, Andy Warhol, Alexis Smith, Karl Wirsum, and more. The exhibition was extremely extensive in its coverage of comic art as an original and influential source material, and the contemporary art that was inspired by the work of cartoonists. 

1987/88: Comics Iconoclasm; ICA London

             Comics Iconoclasm was an exhibition curated by Sheena Wagstaff, curator of the infamous Whitney Comics Art Show. The Comics Iconoclasm show was originally held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and traveled around Europe to venues such as the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin, Ireland, the Cornerhouse Gallery in Manchester, England, and various other locations through 1988. 

2003: Splat Boom Pow: The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art. 

              Splat Boom Pow: The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art was an exhibition curated by Valerie Cassel in 2003. The show was originally held at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas, but traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts in late 2003 to early 2004. The exhibition was focused on highlighting and providing context to modern artists who use cartoon and comic art as an element of their artwork. The exhibition included work from artists such as: Mel Ramos, Dara Birnbaum, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Sigmar Polke, Michael Ray Charles, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and many more. 

2005/06: Hammer Museum and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): Masters of American Comics 

               The Masters of American Comics show was organized by the UCLA Hammer Museum and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and was co-curated by John Carlin and Brian Walker, both scholars with previous research experience in comic art. The exhibition spanned over both art museums from November, 2005 to March, 2006. The exhibition focused on fifteen cartoonists who helped develop the American comic strip and book during the 19th century. Artists such as Winsor McCay, Charles M. Schulz, Milton Caniff, Robert Crumb, Art Speigelman, Gary Panter, Chris Ware, and more were featured in the exhibition. A large amount of around 900 pieces of cartoon and comic art were featured between the two museums. 

2007: Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation

                Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation was co-curated by Barbara Bloemink, Rick Gribenas, and Ana Merino for the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery in 2007. After its run in Pennsylvania, the show traveled to the Center for Contemporary Art in New Orleans, the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. The goal of the curators was to demonstrate and highlight the ways that contemporary artists use cartoon and comic language and imagery in their artworks. More specifically, the exhibition focuses on the way cartoon and comic imagery can underscore a tone of humor in controversial and challenging topics. 

2007: Museum of Modern Art; Comics Abstraction: Image Breaking, Image Making

                 Last but not least, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York, held an exhibition of Abstract Comics in their special collections galleries during the 2007 Summer exhibition season. Curated by Roxana Marcoci, the exhibition highlights the newer field of comic abstraction, and how abstract comic artists make meaning within their work. In the exhibition, modern and contemporary abstract artists such as Gary Simmons, Juan Muñoz, Ellen Callagher, Polly Apfelbaum, and Julie Mehretu were featured in the exhibition. The exhibition featured works spanning vastly different types of mediums, such as painting, sculpture, collage, and video art.