Lariar, Lawrence, 1908-1981

Lawrence Lariar (1908-1981) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and writer.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lariar graduated from Erasmus High School in 1925 and studied art at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts (1926-1929). Later, he studied at the Academie Julien in Paris and at the Art Students League of New York. Initially he worked as a commercial advertising artist, but after 1933 he shifted his focus to freelance illustration and cartooning. His work often appeared in the New York daily papers, as well as popular magazines of the era including Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, American Magazine, College Humor, New Yorker, Judge, and Country Gentlemen . He was cartoon editor of Liberty Magazine (1941-1948) and of Parade magazine. He served as Director of the Professional School of Cartooning and as President of the American Society of Magazine Cartoonists. Lariar authored and edited numerous books over the course of his career including the annual series Best Cartoons of the Year . He also published mystery novels under the names Adam Knight, Michael Stark and Michael Lawrence.

From the guide to the Lawrence Lariar Papers, 1926-1965, 1942-1954, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)