'Stu Goldman's Eavesdrawings'.
Stuart Goldman, also known as Stu Goldman, was an American political cartoonist, and the longtime house cartoonist of The Jewish Exponent (1981-2009). His cartoons, often presented under the title 'Eavesdrawings', won several awards and have been exhibited in museums and various shows in the USA, Canada, Hungary, Japan and the UK. He should not be confused with the U.S. journalist, critic and screenwriter Stuart Goldman or U.S. historian Stuart D. Goldman.
Life and career
Stuart Wilk Goldman was born in 1947 in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He attended Haverford High School and Kutztown College and in 1971 achieved a bachelor's degree in art education. During the Vietnam War (1965-1973), he served in the U.S. Navy, where he was promoted to the rank of petty officer third class. During his military service, he kept drawing comics and cartoons. One time, the comedian Bob Hope visited his military unit to entertain the American troops. At this occasion, Goldman was given the task to archive a recording of the show.
Back in civilian life, Goldman was active at a local radio and TV station in Denver, Colorado. He became managing editor of GLASScraftman magazine, a specialized publication devoted to stained glass art. Goldman also wrote books about stained glass, including '9x9 Lives Cat Designs' (Wardell Publications, 2000) and 'Glass-Itecture: The Style Handbook' (Glass Press, 2002).
For the Casa Bonita Restaurant in Denver, Colorado, Goldman designed caricatures (in 2020 the restaurant went bankrupt, but a year later it was bought by 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who both had fond memories of the place). In 1981, Goldman moved to Philadelphia, where he was a graphic design teacher at the Hussian School of Art and the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Apart from cartooning and stained glass sculpting, he had several other hobbies, including hanggliding, paddleboarding and playing the ukulele. Stu Goldman passed away in 2022 in his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 74 years old.
Sequential cartoon depicting PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, 2022.
Comics and cartoons
According to his 2022 obituary on dailycartoonist.com, Goldman published a comic strip in the 1970s, but no further specifications have been given. In 1981, he joined the staff of The Jewish Exponent, the weekly newspaper of the Jewish community of Philadelphia. As its editorial cartoonist, he commented on national and current affairs from a Jewish perspective. His cartoon feature 'Eavesdrawings' also ran in 75 other publications all over the United States, including the Philadelphia magazine The Welcomat. As he called it himself, his 'Eavesdrawings' were funny cartoons translated from "overheard fragments of existence". Goldman later also served as The Jewish Exponent's art director and graphics editor. He retired in 2009. Whenever Goldman traveled, he kept sketchbooks. Both his sketchbooks and political cartoons have been donated to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives.
Recognition
Several of Stu Goldman's comics have won first place for "Best Editorial Cartoon" by the Philadelphia Society of Professional Journalists. He also won multiple Noah Bee Awards in the newspaper sub-categories of "Editorial Cartooning" or "Illustrating in All."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 March 1985.