Schulz introduced Snoopy in his role as the Beagle Scout on May 13, 1974—although, truth be told, Snoopy was at the time only a “tenderpaw.” It wouldn’t be long however, until Snoopy reached the pinnacle: Beagle Scout. In this exhibition, learn how Schulz’s portrayal of the Beagle Scout changed over 25 years and enjoy related ephemera and objects.

>> PRESS RELEASE FOR TAKE A HIKE, SNOOPY

From the richly detailed flora and fauna of Pogo’s Okefenokee Swamp to the minimalist surroundings of Peanuts, cartoonists have created unique environments in which their characters live, work, and play. Among the most memorable comic strip locales are Li’l Abner’s Dogpatch, Krazy Kat’s Coconino County, and Beetle Bailey’s Camp Swampy. This is the final exhibition in the Language of Lines trilogy, co-curated by cartoon historian Brian Walker.

Explore how Peanuts reflected five decades of contemporary youth culture, from coon skin caps and 3–D glasses to cool jazz, surfing, and even Harry Potter books. Schulz also kept up with “happening” celebrity personalities and found a way to include everyone from Dr. Spock to Michael Jackson in his strip. Relive the decades of Peanuts in this exhibition of 70 original strips.

Sports were important to Charles Schulz, and golf was one of his favorite games. He reported in 1967, “The things I like to do the best are drawing cartoons and hitting golf balls.”  From playing on his high school golf team to his late-in-life weekly foursome, Schulz not only enjoyed the game, but he excelled at it. This exhibition features photographs and memorabilia of Schulz’s game and also looks at how he portrayed golf in Peanuts, as Snoopy assumed the role of “World Famous Golf Pro.”

How many suns? Is the Earth flat? Charles Schulz touched on many aspects of
the natural world during the nearly fifty years he created Peanuts. Some of the characters’ cockamamie understandings of the world around them afforded Schulz many opportunities to introduce his readers to fun facts about the natural world. Explore the natural world in Peanuts strips, posters, and activity centers.

Charles Schulz tested the bounds of his comic world from time to time but quickly learned to discard characters (the extremely loud Charlotte Braun and Faron the cat, for example), themes (Linus’ glasses), and portrayals (Lucy and Charlie Brown’s “google” eyes) that distracted from the strip. Take a look at these little-remembered Schulz experiments in this exhibition featuring 60 original Peanuts strips.

View paintings, drawings, and caricatures of Schulz by his friends and contemporaries. Portraits of Schulz will coincide with the donation of a photograph of Charles M. Schulz to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., in October 2010—the 60th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip’s debut.

Because relationships between brothers and sisters can be the most intense, rewarding, and challenging in a person’s life, they provide cartoonists with extremely rich comic possibilities. Sibling Relationships examines the depiction of siblings throughout the history of cartoons with special emphasis on the brothers and sisters in Peanuts: Lucy, Linus, and Rerun Van Pelt, and Charlie and Sally Brown.

With the great success of Peanuts, Charles Schulz’s other artistic endeavors often get overlooked. This exhibition introduces the visitor to other facets of Schulz’s creativity through the display of his illustrated manuscripts, paintings, advertising art, and early one-panel cartoons.

Peanuts is chock full of pint-sized philosophers. From Sally’s irreverent “three” philosophies—“Life Goes On,” “Who Cares,” and “How Should I Know?”—to Linus’s frequent pontifications on the meaning of it all, the Peanuts Gang holds forth on their personal beliefs.

"Who Let the Dots Out"
by Tom Everhart

This exhibition examines the intersection between fine art and cartoon art in the works of such artists as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Co-curated by the Sonoma State University Gallery Director and Professor of Art History, Michael Schwager, Comic Art in Fine Art will feature two and three-dimensional works of art.

Creating Holograms presents a behind-the-scenes look at how the Schulz Museum’s birdbath hologram in the back courtyard was created by sculptor-in-light Michael Hayden. This exhibition will include the Peanuts strips from which the line drawings were taken to create the holograms and drawings, as well as diagrams of how holograms are made and how they work.

This exhibition explores how, in addition to sports, play is portrayed in Peanuts.  Early strips find the Gang involved in imaginative play as they prepare for a martian attack, and a later series of strips find them engrossed in a rousing game of “Ha Ha Herman.” In between they shoot marbles, build snow forts, and fly kites.

In Charles Schulz’s storied career he won not one, but two Reuben Awards (1955 and 1964) given by the National Cartoonists Society for outstanding cartoonist of the year, the highest honor that the profession bestows. Discover who the past winners have been and who, along with Schulz, has won on multiple occasions.

The 40th anniversary of Title IX is in 2012, and although Schulz didn’t lead the campaign for equality for women’s sports, he did bring attention to women athletes in a variety of ways. Schulz’s girl characters played sports (some quite badly!), he mentioned women’s sports stars, and he even gave a nod to Title IX in some Peanuts strips. This exhibition will also detail Schulz’s daughters' involvement in sports and the women’s tennis tournament he sponsored at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena.

November 30, 2011 through April 2, 2012
Strip Rotation Gallery

In addition to his numerous road trips—including striking out for a visit with Spike in Needles, California; walking south with Woodstock during the migration season; and his ill-fated travels to the Grenoble Olympics in France—Snoopy also set off for the moon! Snoopy’s most famous road trips will be revisited in the 65 original Peanuts strips featured in this exhibition. The full-length animated feature, Snoopy, Come Home!, will run concurrent with this exhibition in the Museum's Theater.

It's a Fine Line includes an examination of Schulz’s pen line and a display and description of his “tools of the trade.” It will incorporate how he learned his technique and how his pen line changed over time due to health considerations.

How does clothing reflect a character’s personality or persona—like Peppermint Patty’s sandals or Snoopy’s goggles and helmet for instance? When and why do the characters change from their normal attire? And what’s up with the Gang's winter clothing? It remained virtually unchanged for nearly 50 years! Play Clothes examines the different clothes and corresponding situations with a display of original Peanuts strips.

The World War I Flying Ace first zoomed into Peanuts on October 10, 1965, and with his signature catchphrases—“Curse you, Red Baron!” and “I’ll get you, Red Baron!”—he became one of Snoopy’s most popular alter egos. Learn more about the World War I era while laughing at the Flying Aces’ antics as he attempts to evade the skillful and cunning Red Baron.

How effectively does Peanuts translate to different languages and cultures? In some cases even the title, Peanuts, is changed! International Peanuts will allow Museum and “cyber” visitors to weigh in on the “translation” of the characters and humor of the strip in other cultures and languages.

The Peanuts strip entered a new realm of abstraction when Sally’s schoolhouse, the soft ball mound, trees, and Charlie Brown’s kite and baseball glove, all started to do the talking (or thinking!). The exhibition takes a closer look at Schulz’s use of anthropomorphism in 70 original Peanuts strips.

The Gifts Schulz Gave features gifts that Sparky gave to family and friends throughout his lifetime, including hand-drawn birthday cards, drawings of Peanuts characters, and even comic strips.

Learn the fascinating history of the development of Schulz’s art into three-dimensional products, and the key role played by entrepreneur Connie Boucher and her company, Determined Productions, Inc., in developing the branding and merchandising of Peanuts products in the early 1960s.

Enjoy the holidays as celebrated by the Peanuts Gang! Halloween, Veterans Day, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, and more have all been observed in Peanuts strips. The 70 original strips in this exhibition feature the Great Pumpkin vigil, the Easter Beagle’s joyous romp, and ringing in the New Year with Snoopy and Woodstock.