Bastian, Robert O.

Robert O. Bastian (1917-1970) was an American editorial cartoonist.

Robert Owen Bastian was born April 2, 1917 and grew up in Stockton, California. His father was a display designer and the younger Bastian decided in high school he wanted to be an editorial cartoonist.

Bastian received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Pacific in 1940. While a student he contributed to the campus newspaper and yearbook and worked as a photographer to pay for college. He later went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute.

During World War II, Bastian served in the Marines in the South Pacific, participated in the Battle of Manila in 1945 and achieved the rank of major. Following his service, he returned to San Francisco and worked in advertising illustration and as a newspaper photographer. In 1953 Bastian became an editorial cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle where he stayed until the 1968 San Francisco newspaper strike. Bastian prided himself on creating cartoons depicting local and statewide issues that resonated with area residents. In a 1966 letter, Bastian wrote that he felt the influence of editorial cartoons and the editorial page itself was on the decline.

After leaving the Chronicle Bastian took his skills to television. At San Francisco PBS station KQED, Bastian worked for the show Newsroom where every night he provided commentary and drew a cartoon during the show. During Bastian's time with Newsroom it won a Peabody Award. In 1969 a compilation of his television cartoons were published as The Best of Bastian .

A memorial exhibit of Bastian’s work was held in 1971 and a retrospective exhibit was staged at the Landmarks Society Gallery in Tiburon, California, in 1992. Bastian’s cartoons have also been exhibited at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.

Robert Bastian committed suicide on September 22, 1970.

From the guide to the Robert Bastian Cartoons, circa 1960-1968, 1964-1968, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)