Hold the front page! London has its very own Cartoon Museum. An excellent destination just steps away from Oxford Circus. Whether you’re a fan of satire, political cartoons or classic comic strips, the Cartoon Museum has them all. You will find a treasure trove of over 6,000 cartoons, alongside a collection of thousands of books and comics.
Table of Contents
Discover a World of Satire and Fun at the Cartoon Museum
The Cartoon Museum is a unique space celebrating the art of cartoons. Cartoons are often considered to be ephemeral and disposable. People love the Beano, swoon at Disney Princesses or smirk at political cartoons but it is rare to see them displayed in museums and art galleries. A visit to the Cartoon Museum is a trip down memory lane and an artistic pleasure.
Explore Political Cartoons at the Cartoon Museum
The Cultural Teens love a political cartoon. Veteran cartoonist Steve Bell has curated display of the political cartoons. We start with the seventeenth century cartoons that illustrated my school history book. Gilray with his biting humour, Napoleon and Wellington carving up Europe. I love the way that the images on show slowly become current affairs as events that you remember begin to appear.
Comics and Cartoons: A Walk Down Memory Lane
Rupert Bear was my favourite cartoon growing up. Yes I know it would be cooler if it were The Beano but there you go. Thank goodness that both Rupert and friends AND Dennis the Menace and co all get featured. Side by by side with more modern anime.
What is a cartoon?
Cartoon can mean many things. It can be the vast drawings used as blue prints for making tapestries like the amazing Raphael Cartoons in the V&A. It can be a film like a Mickey Mouse or Tom and Jerry. Cartoons can be comic’s like the Beano. Or political cartoons lampooning the great and the good. At the cartoon museum it is political cartoons, caricatures and comic strips that are celebrated.
Cartoon Museum Need to Know
- Cartoon Museum, 63 Wells Street, W1A 3AE
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 10.30 – 5.30 (8pm on Thursdays)
- Admission: Adults £8.50, children free
- Art fund members free
- Nearest tube Oxford Circus or Goodge Street
Just a little bit further along from the Cartoon Museum you will find my favourite all museums the Wallace Collection. For inspiration for more London Days Out check out my guide to London Exhibitions or London Historic Homes.
