Mac Rating: 0.00 | Votes: | Date: 03/06/2026 13:43:00

Near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, the Cartoon Art Museum is the only museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, editorial cartoons, anime and animation art. Founded in 1984 with a substantial endowment from the cartoonist Charles M. Schulz of Peanuts fame, the museum has occupied several locations in the city over the decades and reopened in its current Beach Street home in 2017 after a brief closure. The collection numbers some seven thousand original works of cartoon art and is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Drawings range from nineteenth-century newspaper cartoons through golden-age comic-book pages from the 1940s to contemporary graphic-novel art, with strong holdings of work by Charles Schulz himself, Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes, Walt Kelly of Pogo and a wide roster of editorial cartoonists from the major American newspapers. Rotating exhibitions in the museum's intimate galleries explore particular artists, characters and themes in depth, ranging from retrospectives of long-running newspaper strips to surveys of cartooning from specific cultures or eras. Recent shows have covered the LGBTQ history of comics, the rise of Japanese manga, women cartoonists and editorial cartoons on civil rights. A small dedicated CCS Children's Gallery offers age-appropriate exhibits and weekly drawing workshops led by professional cartoonists, while a comprehensive bookshop sells current publications, signed prints and a careful selection of independent comics rarely found in mainstream stores. Modestly priced, with regular free-admission days that draw enthusiastic crowds, the museum makes a delightful change of pace from the city's busier waterfront attractions. For cartooning enthusiasts and the gently curious alike, the Cartoon Art Museum offers a focused, intimate and unfailingly entertaining hour or two in one of the most quietly distinctive cultural institutions in San Francisco. Admission is modest, with discounts for students, seniors and children, and free-admission days are held throughout the year. The museum is conveniently combined with a wider walking tour of Fisherman's Wharf, easily slotting into an afternoon between visits to other nearby attractions along the waterfront.