John Held, Jr.

John Held, Jr. (January 10, 1889 – March 2, 1958) was an American cartoonist, printmaker, and illustrator. One of the best known magazine illustrators of the 1920s, Held created cheerful art showing his characters dancing, motoring and engaging in fun-filled activities. The drawings defined the flapper era so well that many people are familiar with Held's work today. He also produced linocuts that depicted a Victorian era that was dark with violence and abuse.

Born in Salt Lake City, he was a son of Annie (Evans) and John Held. His father was born in Geneva, Switzerland and was adopted by Mormon educator John R. Park, who brought him to Salt Lake City. His maternal grandfather, James Evans, was an English convert to Mormonism. He always claimed that his only art training came from his father and from sculptor Mahonri M. Young, a grandson of Brigham Young.

Held showed a talent for the arts at a young age, selling his first wood print at only nine years old. He worked as a cartoonist at the Salt Lake City Tribune and eventually married Myrtle Jennings, the editor.

John Held, Jr. (mailartist)

John Held, Jr (born 1947) born in New York, USA, is an American mailartist, author and performance artist who has been an active participant in alternative art since 1975, particularly in the fields of rubber stamp art, zine culture, and artistamps. He is one of the most prominent and respected promoters and chroniclers of mail art.

Vittore Baroni has written of him, "He has been called the James Boswell of mail art and indeed, like the renowned collaborator of writer Samuel Johnson, John Held Jr is the best biographer (and bibliographer) that postal art has ever known or might ever have desired."

Artist-Curator

Held has 'done mail art' and maintained a worldwide circle of contacts since 1976. He has contributed to innumerable projects and shows spanning more than three decades. His mail artwork utilizes rubber stamps, artistamps, collage and copy art techniques, and he is also a noted performance artist. He has traveled extensively to realize individual and collaborative art actions, and his many performance pieces include Shadow Project at Hiroshima and Kyoto, Japan (1986), and Rrose Mutt at the Time of Change Festival in Minden, Germany (2000).