International Museum of Cartoon Art
Illustration of the museum during its Port Chester era.
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| Established | 1974 |
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| Dissolved | 2002 |
| Location | As the Museum of Comic Art: Stamford, Connecticut, then Greenwich, Connecticut then Port Chester, New York; As National Cartoon Museum/International Museum of Cartoon Art: Boca Raton, Florida |
| Coordinates | 40°00′05″N 83°00′32″W / 40.001501°N 83.008922°W |
| Type | The collection, preservation and exhibition of cartoons, comic strips and animation |
| Collection size | 200,000 original drawings 20,000 comic books 1000 hours of film and tape |
| Curator | Gary Hood (1996) |
The National Cartoon Museum was an American museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of cartoons, comic strips and animation. It was the brainchild of Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey.
The museum opened in 1974, went through several name changes, relocations, and temporary closures, before finally closing for good in 2002. Originally known as the Museum of Cartoon Art in 1974, the name was changed to the National Cartoon Museum when it moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 1992. In 1996, it became the International Museum of Cartoon Art.
In June 2008, Walker's collection was merged with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, affiliated with Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Walker began preserving cartoon artwork in the 1940s, when he discovered King Features Syndicate using Krazy Kat drawings to sop up water leaks. Walker lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1974, with a contribution of $50,000 from the Hearst Foundation, he opened his museum nearby at 850 Canal Street in Stamford, Connecticut. Two years later, the landlord decided he could rent the mansion for more, forcing a move to a space on Field Point Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. Later, the Museum occupied Ward's Castle, a large, dilapidated house in Port Chester, New York.
In late 1991 the city of Boca Raton, Florida invited Walker to relocate there, and the museum prepared to move in 1992.
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