By Dennis Myers
Jefferson High School in Portland, Ore., was built in 1909, and recently a clean up of its storage room turned up several dozen pieces of art, many of them by New Deal-era artists like Otis Oldfield and Elinor Stone.Also found were the originals of 19 cartoons by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Lucius “Lute” Pease, who was born in Winnemucca, Nevada 140 years ago.
Pease was a cartoonist for the Oregonian in Portland, editor of the Pacific Monthly (a literary publication), and cartoonist for the Newark (N.J.) News. His 1948 Pulitzer reportedly made him the oldest person to that time—80 years old—to win the coveted journalism award.
Jefferson High is trying to raise $27,000 for restoration and protection of the artworks. In Pease's case, that may involve treating the paper on which the cartoons were drawn if it turns out to be acid based paper. About $5,000 has been raised so far.
Contributions can be sent to Jefferson Artworks at Jefferson High School 5210 No. Kerby Ave, Portland, OR 97217. Information on the project is posted at http://jeffersonart.wordpress.com/lute-pease-drawings/
—Reno News Review, April 23
