T. S. Sullivant

T. S. Sullivant
Portrait of Sullivant by Thomas P. Anshutz (1895)
Born	Thomas Starling Sullivant 1854 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Died	1926 (aged 71–72)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist

Thomas Starling Sullivant (1854–1926) was an American cartoonist who signed his work T. S. Sullivant. His work appeared most frequently in the pages of the humorous Life magazine. Best known for his animal and ethnic caricatures, he also drew political cartoons and comic strip toppers, and illustrated children's books. He drew in a heavily cross-hatched pen-and-ink style, with humans and animals depicted with greatly exaggerated features that are nevertheless firmly rooted in his understanding of correct anatomy.

Thomas Starling Sullivant was born in Columbus, Ohio, where his father, William Starling Sullivant, was a leading bryologist. He was raised in Germany, where he may have studied art. At the age of 18, Sullivant left Columbus and lived in Europe for several years, eventually returning to live in Philadelphia. In 1885, he studied under Thomas Eakins at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.

Seeking the opinion of artist A. B. Frost, Sullivant was told to send his art around to the top publications of the period. In 1886, when Sullivant was 32, his first published cartoons appeared in the minor humor magazine Truth. The following year, he surfaced in the leading humor publication Puck, and his work was also in other periodicals, including Harper's Weekly and Texas Siftings. Soon he was seen in the pages of Life with his "Aesop to Date" series and other cartoons.

He studied with the Philadelphia painter Edward Moran, and he became an apprentice to illustrator E. B. Bensell, noted for his pen-and-ink drawings and wood engravings. Godey's Lady's Book described Bensell as "an illustrator of the old school, who drew on the wooden block".

Sullivant was a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club from 1888 to 1904. By the turn of the century, Sullivant switched from Life to Judge. In 1904, he signed on to draw political cartoons for William Randolph Hearst, continuing in that position until 1907. Leaving Hearst, he studied in Europe, returning to the pages of Life in 1911. He continued to contribute to Life until his death in 1926.