John Joseph Fawcett was born on February 6, 1909 in the Smith Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island. The son of John and Catherine (Mulryan) Fawcett, he was raised in the Smith Hill and Olneyville sections of the city.
Fawcett attended St. Mary's Acedemy and Technical High School in Providence, RI. His formal art training consisted of three years of Saturday morning classes at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) from 1922-1924 and a $25 correspondence course in cartooning. During his time at RISD Fawcett was awarded tuition free scholarships for two of those years. He graduated from Technical High in 1927, and won All-State soccer honors there.
Fawcett began his career in commercial art sketching furniture for advertisements for Kane Furniture Store in Hartford, Connecticut. He later worked at several Providence, RI, art studios as a letterer and package designer.
In 1938, Fawcett was hired by the Providence Journal as a letterer. Over the years he served the newspaper as an illustrator, sports cartoonist, and finally, starting in 1960 as the paper's editorial cartoonist. He retired from the Journal in 1975.
Fawcett's editorial cartoons won National Brotherhood Awards from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1962, 1963, and in 1969. In 1965, he received a certificate of recognition from the Conference for "outstanding leadership in promoting the cause of good will and understanding among all the people of our nation."
In 1933, Fawcett married Ruth (Shurtleff) Fawcett and they had two sons. After Ruth passed away, Fawcett took a second wife, Margaret (Corrigan) Lanni, in 1970. Fawcett died in August, 1992.
Collection is open for research by appointment. Materials do not circulate. Some materials may be restricted, for further information contact the Archives and Special Collections, Phillips Memorial Library, Providence College.
Researchers seeking to publish materials from the Providence College Archives and Special Collections are advised to request written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection. Although Providence College has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
John J. Fawcett Cartoon collection, Providence College, Phillips Memorial Library, Archives and Special Collections.
The John Fawcett Cartoon collection consists of original drawings and copies of the editorial cartoons of John J. Fawcett from 1962 to 1975. The political cartoons in this collection cover subjects that span local, national and international issues. The international subjects include the Vietnam War, arms control, Middle East crises and Cuba. Among the national issues are Congressional ethics, energy policies, and urban life. Local issues include highway safety, ecology, and consumer protection. Numerous Rhode Island political figures are prominent in the drawings including Senators Pastore, Pell and Chafee and Providence Mayor Joseph Doorley.
This collection is arranged chronologically by year, month and date.
The cartoons, both originals and copies, were donated by John J. Fawcett to Providence College in February of 1980.
There are no known separated materials from this collection.
For ready access to a select group of Fawcett's cartoons check your local library for a copy of
This series is comprised of cartoons drawn by John J. Fawcett for the Providence Journal from 1962-1966. These drawings include original drawings and copies.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series is comprised of cartoons drawn by John J. Fawcett for the Providence Journal from 1967-1971. These drawings include original drawings and copies.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series is comprised of cartoons drawn by John J. Fawcett for the Providence Journal from 1972-1975. These drawings include original drawings and copies.
This series is arranged chronologically.
This series is comprised of unused cartoons drawn by John J. Fawcett for the Providence Journal.
This series is comprised of undated cartoons drawn by John J. Fawcett for the Providence Journal.