Kari Suomalainen

Artist, cartoonist and author Kari Suomalainen (1920-1999) started drawing daily political cartoons in the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat in 1951. Over a 40 year career with the newspaper, he drew some 7500 cartoons for the leader page. He received many awards for his work, including the National Cartoonist Society (USA) award in 1959, and was appointed an honorary professor in 1977 by President Kekkonen. The beautiful lakeside Visavuori Museum outside Helsinki is dedicated to his work and that of his grandfather, world famous sculptor Emil Wikström.