Skip to Content

The Arts Intel Report

Louis M. Glackens: Pure Imagination

Louis M. Glackens, Puck magazine cover, April 1912.

Until Mar 30, 2025
One East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, United States

Louis M. Glackens was one of the first illustrators of animated cartoons. For the production houses Baré, Pathe, and Sullivan Studios, he drew dynamic scenes that were historical, political, and silly; he also specialized in animals and fantasy creatures like mermaids. You may recognize his last name because he was the older brother of the Ashcan School artist William J. Glackens. Drafting images as early as 1915—work that laid a path for Walt Disney’s later creations—Louis was deemed ahead of his time, and consequently his art was largely overlooked. The NSU Museum now brings Glackens into the spotlight, celebrating the trailblazing cartoonist. —Clara Molot