Lost MacNelly painting unveiled

Lost MacNelly painting unveiled

A long-lost painting of the historic Carolina Inn by alumnus Jeff MacNelly, the late artist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, was returned to the University and unveiled Jan. 16 at the Inn. Kenneth Zogry, Carolina Inn historian, said “We’ve been looking for this painting for a decade.”

The unusual journey of the 40-year-old painting began when MacNelly was commissioned to paint a view of the Inn after major additions and renovations were completed in the late 1960s.  MacNelly, then editorial cartoonist for the Chapel Hill Weekly, had attended Carolina from 1965 to 1969 and made a name for himself as a cartoonist for the Daily Tar Heel.

He created an impressionist oil-on-canvas painting which became an iconic image of the Carolina Inn featured on brochures and restaurant menu covers until the 1980s.

The painting disappeared sometime in the 1970s, and its location was unknown until a few months ago.  In the early 1990s, it was purchased at a yard sale in High Point, N.C. The purchaser recognized the signature and contacted MacNelly, who sent a hand-written letter authenticating it.  The owner contacted the Inn about the painting in 2008. The 1992 letter on MacNelly’s personal “Shoe” stationery was acquired along with the painting.

MacNelly went on to be the editorial cartoonist at the Richmond News Leader and the Chicago Tribune. In 1977, he created the popular syndicated cartoon strip “Shoe,” with the principal character based on UNC journalism professors Jim Shumaker.

MacNelly received numerous honors and accolades during his career, including three Pulitzer Prizes and two Rueben Awards, the highest award given in the field of editorial cartoons.  He died in 2000 at age 52.