Tom Everhart

Tom Everhart paintings of the Snoopy characters of Charles Schulz (Schultz)

The impressive Peanuts & Snoopy paintings, which include lithographs & lithography posters, prints and original artwork of Tom Everhart have always straddled the line between what is acceptable and what is radical in the fine arts. As the only artist given permission by Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts™ comic strip, to use his art as subject matter, Everhart utilizes the universality of the characters to communicate a new way of seeing. “I want my work to be very inviting,” he explains. “I want people to see the attraction in it, and be lured in.” A twenty-year relationship between Tom Everhart and Charles M. Schulz and the Peanuts phenomenon are reflected in paintings and lithographs created by Tom Everhart. The result of that collaborative relationship transcends the comic strip, while simultaneously giving homage to the artistry of his mentor. Everhart’s fascination with Schulz’s “line” – and his remarkable ability to capture it with his own distinct interpretation – impressed Schulz and launched a friendship and collaboration that continued until Schulz’s death in 2000. With large-format, oversized panels, Everhart has succeeded in taking Schulz’s familiar characters in a new direction; continuously exploring his artistic passions by recording the movements of light and color in imaginary, non-literal landscapes and settings. Everhart’s paintings have been exhibited in Museums and fine art galleries worldwide, including Louvre Museum, Paris, France, 1990; Museu da Cidade, Lisbon, Portugal, 1993; and Suntory Museum, Osaka, Japan, 2000. In 2003, an important one-man exhibition, “Under the Influence,” was held at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California.