



(M-0094) In 2000, Brian Duffy, political cartoonist with the Des Moines Register from 1983-2008, put together a magnificent artistic overview of Iowa icons, ranging from President Herbert Hoover, George Washington Carver, Meredith Willson, and Grant Wood to John Wayne, Mamie Eisenhower, Johnny Carson, Bob Feller, and Nile Kinnick. 58 subjects – One colorful poster. We have secured two rare copies of this classic poster: one is framed and on display in our office; the second is signed by Duffy (see pics below) and includes a couple of pics of Brian signing the poster in 2016! A real treasure!




Where does time go? It is hard to believe that I have been drawing cartoons here in Iowa for thirty-two years. The first twenty-five was as the last front-page cartoonist in the nation. In 2009, the editor (Des Moines Register) at the time decided, rather arbitrarily, to do away with the paper’s popular tradition that stretched back over a century, to Ding Darling. I did not get mad…I got even. Upon the advice and assistance of some of the best journalists in the state, I went about setting up my own syndicate to provide cartoons on Iowa issues to newspapers all across the state of Iowa. To date the list of those outstanding newspapers stretch river to river. My national cartoons continue to appear in newspapers and on websites nationwide through King Features. Brian Duffy










Here at Our Iowa Heritage, we’ve written posts on a good number of the 58 people/icons featured on Brian Duffy’s Millennium Poster. Click on the links (below) to access the stories.



The Floyd Monument-Sioux City, Early 1900’s Farm, The Meskwaki Tribe



George Gallup, The Iowa State Fair, Meredith Willson



President Herbert Hoover, Iowa State Capitol – Des Moines, George Washington Carver



Glenn Miller, Simon Estes, John Wayne



Nile Kinnick, Carrie Chapman Catt, Pope John Paul II



American Gothic – Grant Wood, J.N. Ding Darling, Nordic Festival



Old Capitol – Iowa City, Shot Tower – Dubuque, The Mississippi River




Click here to see The Iowa Award winners – ten of which appear here on Brian Duffy’s poster.
Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.
The Editorial Cartoons of Brian Duffy, University of Iowa Digital Press
Brian Duffy Cartoons, Brian Duffy website
Click here to go on to the next section…
Click here for a complete INDEX of Our Iowa Heritage stories…