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Artists›Karl Wirsum

Karl Wirsum

Karl Wirsum

Artist

WA-00035531

Chicago, IL, USA

DrawingFiguration

Representation

None documented

1

Institutional Exhibitions

41

Works in Collection

45

Assets Indexed

1

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Movin'

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979–1980

Field Verification (1 fields)

1 cross-verified · 0 single-source

LocationGallery Generic· 72%✓

Source Registry (3)

Corbett-Dempseyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/karl-wirsum
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Matthew-Markshttps://www.artsy.net/artist/karl-wirsum
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/62653
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Karl Wirsum was an American painter and printmaker known for his exuberant, cartoonish figuration and bold graphic surfaces. Working primarily in acrylic and ink from the 1960s onward, his compositions featured distorted human faces and bodies rendered in acid colors and thick outlines, rooted in Chicago's postwar artistic traditions. His work merged commercial graphic design sensibilities with fine art ambition, creating a visual language that anticipated aspects of later Pop and Figurative movements.

Source: Corbett Dempsey · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Figuration

Medium

Drawing

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (41)

Untitled

1990 · Colored crayon with graphite and collaged crayon and graphite elements on white wove paper

Sight: 58.7 × 44.4 cm (23 1/8 × 17 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Back Teria One Oh! One

Back Teria One Oh! One

1981 · Acrylic on canvas

87.6 × 59.7 cm (34 1/2 × 23 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Green-Eared Zombunny

Green-Eared Zombunny

1980 · Colored pencils and colored crayons on black wove paper

89.1 × 58.6 cm (35 1/8 × 23 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

You Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours

You Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours

1980 · Acrylic on canvas

91.4 × 66 cm (36 × 26 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Apple-Polished Zombunny

Apple-Polished Zombunny

1980 · Colored pencils and colored crayons on black wove paper

89.1 × 58.6 cm (35 1/8 × 23 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Hare Toddy Kong Tamari

Hare Toddy Kong Tamari

1980 · Color offset lithograph on white wove paper

Sheet: 61 × 45.7 cm (24 1/16 × 18 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Macy's Jet Set

1978 · Oil on canvas

68.6 × 81.3 cm (27 × 32 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

1978 · Offset lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

28 × 21.6 cm (11 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

1978 · Offset lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

28 × 21.6 cm (11 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

1978 · Offset lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

28 × 21.6 cm (11 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

Draw Dick Tracy The Hard Way

1978 · Offset lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

28 × 21.6 cm (11 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

We Got Nuthun to Hyde! Unique Art Auction at 8/Special Fund Razor

We Got Nuthun to Hyde! Unique Art Auction at 8/Special Fund Razor

1974 · Screenprint in red on acetate, stapled to offset lithograph in black on white wove paper

34.3 × 25.5 cm (13 9/16 × 10 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Whats the Coinfusion I Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It? Sum One Flipped! Now That Makes Cents

Whats the Coinfusion I Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It? Sum One Flipped! Now That Makes Cents

1974 · Color screenprint on ivory wove paper

Image: 76.9 × 56.4 cm (30 5/16 × 22 1/4 in.); Sheet: 89 × 58.5 cm (35 1/16 × 23 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Epauleptic Fit

1974 · Acrylic on acetate

91.5 × 63.5 cm (36 × 25 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Korner Kite: Birdman

Korner Kite: Birdman

1974 · Felt-tip pen on rice paper, and bamboo

29 1/2 × 23 3/4 × 1/4" (74.9 × 60.3 × 0.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Santi-Cloth

1972 · Offset lithograph in black on white wove paper

Sheet: 56 × 43.2 cm (22 1/16 × 17 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Study for Harry Kari Arms Exchange

Study for Harry Kari Arms Exchange

1971 · Brush and pen and black ink, colored crayons, blue and black ballpoint pens, and graphite on ivory wove paper

45.7 × 61 cm (18 × 24 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Dr. Chicago

1971 · Color offset lithograph on off-white wove paper

Sheet: 62.1 × 47.2 cm (24 1/2 × 18 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Surplus Slop From the Windy City

Surplus Slop From the Windy City

1970 · Color offset lithograph, commerically printed on yellow wove paper

58.3 × 46.8 cm (23 × 18 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

First Portrait of the Brand New Star, from Screen Prints 1970

1970 · Color screenprint on off-white wove paper

38.1 × 38.1 cm (15 × 15 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Ho Boy! Oh Boy!

Ho Boy! Oh Boy!

1970 · Blue ballpoint pen on cream wove paper

43.3 × 35.6 cm (17 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled (Study for Detail of Poster for 1970 St. Xavier College Solo Exhibition)

Untitled (Study for Detail of Poster for 1970 St. Xavier College Solo Exhibition)

1970 · Blue ballpoint pen and brush and black ink on cream wove paper

43.3 × 35.6 cm (17 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Worse Sum Show

1970 · Offset lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

Sheet: 56.2 × 42.5 cm (22 3/16 × 16 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Surplus Slop From the Windy City

Surplus Slop From the Windy City

1970 · Offset lithograph in black on yellow wove paper

Sheet: 58.3 × 46.8 cm (23 × 18 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 41 artworks →

Artwork sources (2)

41 published of 43 catalogued · 41 with image

Art Institute Chicago
39 published39 img
MoMA
2 publishedof 4 catalogued2 img

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

3

Movements1

Collections2

Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Movin'

New York · 1979