{"id":617162,"date":"2026-08-02T21:04:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T21:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/617162\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T21:04:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T21:04:26","slug":"the-10-artists-that-influenced-bob-staake-the-daily-cartoonist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/617162\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Artists that Influenced Bob Staake \u2013 The Daily Cartoonist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skip to comments<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cartoonists's<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to find an article or review of Bob Staake<\/a><\/strong> that doesn\u2019t include a line about Bob being \u201cone of the most prolific illustrators\u201d of his generation. Which isn\u2019t exactly true. He\u2019s also a cartoonist, children\u2019s book writer and artist, political and commercial artist. In his 50 year career he\u2019s worked with just about every major magazine, newspaper, book publisher, and corporate brand. He\u2019s written or illustrated 80 books<\/a>, created 23 The New Yorker covers<\/a> and won major awards like New York Times Best Illustrated Children\u2019s Books Award<\/a> and the National Cartoonists Society Best Newspaper Illustration division<\/a> award.<\/p>\n

Now entering into his retirement era, Bob says he\u2019s easing into it. His normal children\u2019s picture books output is four or five a year. Now he says he\u2019ll only take on one or two. He recently published a best-seller with David Sedaris<\/strong> called \u201cThe Selfish Sister<\/a>.\u201d He\u2019s also working on a book for Viking called \u201cThe Sandwich Police,\u201d as well as a two-book contract for Harper Collins. AND he says his agent literary agent is \u201cpitching three new books that I both wrote and illustrated to publishers in the next two weeks.\u201d His version of \u201ceasing into retirement\u201d looks a lot like other people\u2019s \u201cmost productive time of career.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Sample of Bob\u2019s the New Yorker Covers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A Sample of His Children\u2019s Picture Books<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Political\/Editorial Illustration<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"IllustrationUnpublished editorial art from his Instagam account<\/p>\n

Cartoon Style Illustrations for The Washington Post<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a piece from his Instagram that started as a \u201csilly, punny concept sketch\u201d but took on a life of it\u2019s own. From his Instagram account he writes, \u201ci [sic] really had no other choice than to get the thing DONE one way or another.\u201d He later donated it to the Cape Cod Museum of Art and it sold at auction for $1,800.<\/p>\n

\"Bob\u201cGrand Central Crustacean\u201d by Bob Staake<\/p>\n

While researching Bob\u2019s work, we found his first contribution to MAD Magazine (April 1996)<\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/p>\n

The assignment to narrow one\u2019s influences to a mere 10 individuals is difficult. Some cartoonists give us a \u201cbaker\u2019s dozen\u201d<\/a>, and other\u2019s just ignore the limit<\/a>. Bob, ever the professional of delivering what is requested, provided a crisp list of 10\u2014but also found a way to include more:<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne can easily look all the stages of my 50-year career and immediately sense which cartoonists influenced my art, but let me take a quick moment to list a handful of names NOT usually thought would be inspirational to a cartoonist, but who truly taught me how to SEE a little differently: Gregory Crewdson<\/a>,\u00a0Phillipe Starck<\/a>,\u00a0Ettore Sottsass<\/a>,\u00a0Diane Arbus<\/a>,\u00a0Herve Morvan<\/a>,\u00a0Saul Bass<\/a>,\u00a0Alvin Lustig<\/a>,\u00a0Alice and Martin Provensen<\/a>,\u00a0Miroslav Sasek<\/a>,\u00a0N.C. Wyeth<\/a>,\u00a0Wayne Thiebaud<\/a>,\u00a0Charles and Ray Eames<\/a>,\u00a0David Klein<\/a>,\u00a0Henry Dreyfuss<\/a>,\u00a0Paul Rand<\/a>,\u00a0Alex Steinweiss<\/a> \u2014 and damn this list just gets longer and longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

No foul called. Now let\u2019s move on to\u2026 <\/p>\n

The 10 Artists Who Influenced Bob Staake
\n\"KarlKarl Hubenthal<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the age of 16, Karl was the first cartoonist I ever met. His expert command of a brush dipped in ink remains unparalleled to this day and his understanding of caricatured anatomical movement was other-worldly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"CartoonCartoon Karl Hubenthal
\nPaul Conrad
\n\"PaulPaul Conrad<\/p>\n

\u201cRead any in-depth interview with me and you\u2019ll learn that Con was my mentor. As a teenager, he instilled in me that a cartoon is 10% drawing and 90% idea, and man was he dead-on correct \u2014 and I have always tried to carry that edict through my career \u2014 from my editorial art, to my children\u2019s books, to my New Yorker covers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nMiguel Covarrubias
\n\"MiguelMiguel Covarrubias profile photo<\/p>\n

\u201cForget his ethereal skill at caricature, few can touch his ability with gouache and his acceptance of editorial realities: and if he was assigned to draw a 6\u2019 politico from the FDR administration in a 5\u201dx5\u201d square, he\u2019d simply make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Miguel<\/p>\n

\"Miguel<\/p>\n

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\"Miguel
\n\"MiguelAl Hirschfeld
\n\"\"Al Hirschfeld<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had bottled up the times I spent with him in his studio (especially when I showed him how to make a quick and dirty masking tape frisket to paint that lush green background as he painted his famous \u201cAbsolut Hirschfeld\u201d vodka ad \ud83d\ude09 EVERY Hirschfeld line is an exquisite dance of ink on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Al<\/p>\n

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\"Al
\nPat Oliphant
\n\"PatPat Oliphant 1965<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1970s, there was simply NO cartoonist I idolized more. How he single-handedly revolutionized the very institution of the modern day editorial cartoon baffles even my fertile imagination. A God. The man is a fucking God. Sadly, I only own one of his originals \u2014 but he was gracious enough to send me a dozen of his used pens and brushes for my private collection of famous artist drawing tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A.M.A.M. Cassandre in 1955<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways straddling the creative fence of aesthetic abstraction and client subservience in his imagery, he was without a doubt the most important French advertising poster artist in pre and post-war Europe. Who else would have the balls to \u201csell\u201d the \u2018Restaurez-Vous Wagon-Bar\u2019 with an image of a baguette, bottle of seltzer and glass of red wine against the background of a locomotive wheel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

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\"Illustration
\nRoger Duvoisin
\n\"RogerRoger Duvoisin<\/p>\n

\u201cI draw nothing like him \u2014 never have, never will \u2014 but every time I see the carefree, sketchy strokes of his nib, I come to an instant understanding: that I have absolutely NO idea how to draw and I might as well just this whole insane gig up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Roger<\/p>\n

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\"MaryMary Blair<\/p>\n

\u201cI have but three words: \u2018Mary FUCKING Blair.’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nJ.P. Miller
\n\"J.P.J.P. Miller<\/p>\n

\u201cUtter lyricism of line, form, color and use of white space to die for. (also, see Aurelius Battaglia<\/a>)\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nCharles Addams
\n\"ProfileCharles Addams in 1947<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few cartoonists on this planet (both past and present) who provide more dark snickers per square inch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nWilliam Steig
\n\"ProfileWilliam Steig<\/p>\n

\u201cLove his art, but his writing is even better. My fave New Yorker cartoon of all-time shows a sleep-walking woman in a nightgown, frilly hat on head, purse in her hand, hubby sitting in bed who yells to her \u2018Macy\u2019s is CLOSED!’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"ProfileEdward Gorey<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I saw Ted\u2019s work was as a kid \u2014 17 ethereal illustrations on a Doubleday Book-Of-The-Month club cover of \u201cHauntings: Tale Of The Supernatural\u201d in my parents\u2019 library. To say I was blown away would be a huge understatement. That book jacket remains framed in my studio \u2014 and I have another 6 copies in my personal library.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Edward
\nPaolo Garretto
\n\"ProfilePaolo Garretto<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, the most economically brilliant caricaturist of all times. You cannot imagine what I have learned by studying Garretto \u2014 abstraction, color, form \u2014 and most importantly, the demand that the reader themselves brings something to the table when viewing a caricature that is both succinct and nothing more than suggestive. Like Hirschfeld and Covarrubias, Garretto too provides a master class in caricature and is far too ignored (missed completely?) by aficionados of the art form.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nThe 3 Artists Influenced Bob Admires<\/p>\n

\u201cI always agonize over the whole question of \u2018contemporaries,\u2019 and for good reason. I am fortunate to be friends with a wide array of super-talented cartoonists, illustrators and artists whom I admire, and many of them are dear, personal friends, so I hesitate to list three because then I\u2019d easily leave out another couple dozen or so who would easily fit the bill \u2013 but I have a solution: Here are three contemporaries I have yet to meet whose work I find inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blexbolex
\n\"ProfileBlexbolex<\/p>\n

\u201cA French\u00a0illustrator, graphic novelist and designer who creates some very interesting experimental books. They don\u2019t always \u2018work\u2019 in the traditional sense of storytelling, but the key word here is \u2018experimental.\u2019 We both share an understanding and clear appreciation for old school production techniques, and his illustrations have a delightful silkscreen aesthetic that I find super-interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Blexbolex
\nKaz\u00a0Prapuolenis
\n\"ProfileKaz\u00a0Prapuolenis<\/p>\n

\u201cI recently rediscovered his work and had forgotten how consistently good his 4-panel underground comics are. Filled with bizarre and hilariously designed anti-commercial characters and wall to wall dark humor, I can sit down with a collection of his and easily get lost in the nutzoid worlds he creates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kaz\u00a0Prapuolenis<\/p>\n

\"Kaz\u00a0Prapuolenis<\/p>\n

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\"Kaz\u00a0Prapuolenis<\/p>\n

\"ProfileTim Biskup<\/p>\n

\u201cStraddling the fence between cartooning, graphic design and fine art, you see the retro influences in his work (Jim Flora, Mary Blair, 50s animation, etc,) but his aesthetic is all his, but perhaps the thing that inspires me most about his images is his extremely adventurous color palette. People think color is simple \u2014 a little red, throw in some blue, a touch of yellow, maybe a green here or there, but he seems to effortlessly marry color that you would never think would go together and complement one another \u2014 and yet they almost always do.<\/p>\n

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\"Tim
\nIllustrations \u00a9 Tim Biskup<\/p>\n

Thank you, Bob, for sharing with us your list of your influences and those you admire. You can follow Bob on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>, or visit his website<\/a>. You can also listen to Bob\u2019s interview on the The Illustration Department Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n