From the Darkroom: Cartoonist Bob Palmer says 'no one I wouldn't criticize or praise'

Springfield Newspapers Inc. editorial cartoonist Robert N. “Bob” Palmer was featured in advance of receiving a coveted Freedoms Foundation award the following Monday for his cartoon entitled “Justice,” which appeared in the Leader & Press on April 26, 1960.

The cartoon was declared by the Freedoms Foundation judges as the “most significant cartoon pertaining to the Bill of Rights and individual liberties under our form of constitutional government.”

Although the award was Palmer’s top award to date, recognition as an artist was nothing new to him and original copies of his cartoons hung in the offices of Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, as well as members of presidential administrations and the Supreme Court.

“There is no one I wouldn’t criticize or praise,” admitted Palmer, “I have no Sacred Cows.”

This image is part of a much larger collection of historically rich photographs from the News-Leader’s photo archive. Each week, the Springfield-Greene County Library will tap into this vast collection and present an interesting image “from the darkroom" and share its history. This image is presented in partnership between the Springfield-Greene County Library District and the Springfield News-Leader. For more historical images of the Ozarks, visit: thelibrary.org/fromthedarkroom.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: From the Darkroom: Cartoonist Bob Palmer wins Freedoms Foundation nod