Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Some Peanuts original artwork missing, perhaps in Riverside
Listen
1:27
Some Peanuts original artwork missing, perhaps in Riverside
Some Peanuts original artwork missing, perhaps in Riverside
Eight years after the death of cartoonist Charles Schulz, his classic "Peanuts" strips still run daily in hundreds of newspapers. An exhibit of Schulz's work is now open at Riverside Metropolitan Museum. As KPCC's Steven Cuevas found out, some of the original artwork for those strips is missing, perhaps lost in the Inland Empire.
Steven Cuevas: Charles Schulz came to Riverside in 1975.
Maggie Weatherbee: To cover the Powder Puff Derby, which was a women's flying race. And the reason he was covering it was because his wife and her mother were flyers in the race.
Cuevas: Maggie Weatherbee. is a curator at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. Schulz himself was apparently terrified of small planes. Anyway, in 1975, fliers in the week-long transcontinental race took off from Riverside Municipal Airport.
Weatherbee: And so he did a series of eight comic strips.
Cuevas: In them, the characters Peppermint Patty and Marcie lease Snoopy's Sopwith Camel, actually Snoopy's doghouse, and enter the Derby.
Weatherbee: Two of them are shown here, and we actually have the one that says "Riverside, California" in it. Which is right here.
Sponsored message
Cuevas: These, however, are reproductions – on loan from the Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa. As for the originals?
Weatherbee: There's a story that the originals to those were hanging at the airport at one time, the city-owned airport, and we're trying to figure out where they are.
Cuevas: Because...
Weatherbee: Because, of course, if they are originals, they would be worth a whole bunch, and they would need to be in the museum's care, just so they were safe!
Cuevas: Yeah.
Weatherbee: Not stuck in a closet somewhere! (laughs)
Cuevas: Artwork from an original "Peanuts" daily strip can fetch as much as $40,000 at auction. A more elaborate Sunday strip can earn more than twice that. The "Peanuts at Bat" exhibit, emphasizing Charles Schulz's take on baseball, runs through September at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
