Irwin Caplan - Awards

Awards

In 1972, he received the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising and Illustration Award, followed by the 1981 Advertising Award. In November 1999, his artwork was exhibited at Tacoma's Random Modern Gallery in its "Northwest Art 1920-1962" survey exhibition.

In 2005, the murals he painted in 1937 survived a renovation of Garfield High School. One small section showing two trapeze artists was left in place where it had been painted directly on concrete. Portions painted on plaster adhered to clay tile were removed because of seismic safety concerns. Divided into four-by-four foot sections, the plaster paintings were framed and auctioned. Caplan went back to look at the murals in 2003 and commented:

I was very surprised. I didn’t think they would stay in as good condition and have as much impact as they actually have. One story I remember from painting them was using a “flit” gun. We didn’t have airbrush in those days, and there was a lot of area to be covered. A flit gun is used to spray insecticide, but I dumped the insecticide out and used it to spray color. It had a pump action and a little bucket that hung suspended along the tube. I painted during art periods, spraying away, and the kids in the class, when they sneezed, they would sneeze in color.