Hans Horina, one of the German cartoonists who took over the Chicago Tribune‘s Sunday comics in 1906, contributed a strip about an artist whose paintings are so realistic that they come to life. Mr. Foxy the Artist is a little bit different than its much longer-running contemporary, Billy the Boy Artist, whose drawings were merely lifelike enough to cause the impression that they were real.
As usual with the Chicago Tribune Sunday strips of this era, I provide start and end dates that might be a little off, as the microfilm I indexed had incomplete Sunday sections on occasion. With that in mind, take the running dates of August 19 1906 to June 16 1907 with a dose of salt.
Thanks to Cole Johnson for the scans.
Notice that in the top strip, the portraits of the women come to life–you can see their expressions of horror as the fire spreads into the studio. Sadly, the artist abandons them and saves himself.