Editorial cartoonist Wayne Stayskal’s work on display

The community is invited to view selected works of editorial cartoonist Wayne Stayskal beginning Monday, Aug. 12, at Windsor Park, a Covenant Retirement Community in Carol Stream.

A syndicated Tribune Media editorial cartoonist, Stayskal produced work that reached a worldwide audience before his retirement in 2005. He spent the majority of his career with the Tribune Co., first with the Chicago Tribune and then the Tampa Tribune.

A reception in his honor will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 20 in the Centrum of Windsor Park, 124 Windsor Park Drive. Visitors can view the gallery show daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 30.

As an editorial cartoonist, Stayskal produced six cartoons a week. Generally, he had the freedom to express his own viewpoints, according to his wife, Helen. One of his cartoons created enough of a stir during the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court trial to spur picketing outside the Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago.

“Wayne was at work and saw the picketing below,” his wife said. “He walked out among the pickets and watched them. They had no idea who he was.”

Cal Thomas, a syndicated columnist with USA Today and a contributor to Fox News, worked with Stayskal at the Tampa Tribune. Thomas said that although he and Stayskal debated about who had the more difficult job, he admires Stayskal for his ability to condense a lot of thought into a single panel.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Wayne, who provided some of his political cartoons for two of my books,” Thomas said. “I think he has been one of the greatest cartoonist/commentators of our time, especially on matters touching on faith and culture.”

Stayskal’s work was viewed worldwide for more than 30 years. His wit and satire caused some to wince, but most to smile during his career.

After serving in the Air Force, with a stint in Paris, Stayskal returned to his hometown of Chicago and enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Upon graduating in 1956, he took a job in the art department of the Chicago American, where Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Vaughn Shoemaker mentored him. When the Chicago Tribune shuttered the Chicago American in the early 1970s, Stayskal became one of the Tribune’s editorial cartoonists.

In 2005, Stayskal retired from the Tampa Tribune and moved back to the Western suburbs. He and his wife now live at Windsor Park and are parents of four sons, with 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The Windsor Park Center for Lifelong Learning is the co-sponsor of the gallery show. For more information about the reception, gallery shows, or other events hosted by the Windsor Park Center for Lifelong Learning, call Jim Steere, director of community relations, at (630) 510-4706 or contact www.WindsorParkIllinois.org.