Guide to the Leland S. McClelland Collection

Biography of Leland S. McClelland

Leland Shank McClelland was born in Columbus on May 23, 1914, the son of C. P. McClelland, the probate court judge, and Grace Shank, a homemaker. He is a graduate of East High School and attended Ohio State University before transferring to the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts where he graduated in 1936. He married Olga Anne Schlesinger, his high school sweetheart in 1937, and they had a daughter, Mary Susan, and a son, Jeffrey Lee. Mrs. McClelland died in 1987, shortly after the couple celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

After his cartooning job at the Columbus Citizen ended, McClelland taught himself to watercolor. A prolific artist, he was known for completing three paintings a week for twenty-five years prior to his retirement in 1994. His paintings are in the collections of the Columbus Museum of Art, Capital University's Schumacher Gallery, the Zanesville Art Institute as well as in the homes of many central Ohioans. Collections of his original cartoons are held at the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library and the Columbus College of Art and Design, where he taught for sixteen years. He was a founder of the Bexley Area Art Guild and the Central Ohio Watercolor Society. He also served for ten years as Director of Fine Arts at the Ohio State Fair. McClelland was very active in the Columbus community serving as president of the Columbus Art League, Arts Council of Columbus, Downtown Lions Club, and Athletic club.

McClelland's Cartoon Parade was part of a long tradition among Columbus cartoonists that originated with Billy Ireland's Passing Show. Each Sunday the newspaper devoted a full-page cartoon to goings-on in the community and, in McClelland's case, the growth and change in post-war Columbus. As I remember It was a somewhat nostalgic panel cartoon series in which the cartoonist reflected on his childhood and past events. Both features were done with crisp line and sure hand of an expert, and each reveals McClelland's perspective on life and his affection for central Ohio. Occasionally in Cartoon Parade he ventured into the area of political commentary, but always with gentle humor. For almost twenty-three years, Leland S. McClelland's cartoons chronicled and commented on his world. We are richer for this legacy.

Scope and Content

This collection contains 165 Cartoon Parade original comic strips; 12 As I Remeber It... original drawings, and 2 posters of the Columbus downtown skyline by Leland S. McClelland. The materials are arranged by date.

Original art works in this collection may be found by searching the library's
original art database.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

All copyright laws pertain to any use or reproduction of published materials in the collection.

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions for materials in this collection.

Original art has also been separated and cataloged in the museum’s
art database.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Custodial History

The materials were assembled, owned, and maintained by Leland S. McClelland.

Preferred Citation

[Box number/ Folder number], Leland S. McClelland Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Acquisition Information

Gift of Leland S. McClelland, 1994

Other Finding Aid

Encoded from original paper finding aid.

Detailed Description of The Collection

The Leland S. McClelland Collection contains 3 series: Cartoon Parade originals; As I Remember It... originals; and posters of downtown Columbus skyline. The materials is arranged by date.