Johnny Gruelle

John Barton Gruelle (1880-1938) was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book and comics author, illustrator, and storyteller. He is best known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and as the author/illustrator of dozens of books. He also created the Beloved Belindy doll. Gruelle also contributed cartoons and illustrations to at least ten newspapers, four major news syndicates, and more than a dozen national magazines. He was the son of Hoosier Group painter Richard Gruelle.

John was exposed to art and literature at an early age. His father, Richard, was a self-taught portrait and landscape painter who became associated with the Hoosier Group of American Impressionist painters. In addition to Richard Gruelle, the informal group included William Forsyth, T. C. Steele, Otto Stark, and J. Ottis Adams. Another Gruelle family friend was Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, whose poems "The Elf-Child," later titled "Little Orphant Annie" (1885), and "The Raggedy Man" (1888), eventually formed the name for John Gruelle's iconic Raggedy Ann character. Gruelle later honoured Riley's memory in his own book, The Orphant Annie Story Book (1921), written in tribute to Riley's famous poem.

John was the eldest child of the Gruelle family, which also included a younger sister, Prudence (1884-1966), and a brother, Justin (1889-1979). Gruelle's parents exposed all three children to music, literature, and art. John, who likely attended public schools in Indianapolis as a youth, became interested in art and learned drawing from his father. Prudence trained as a vocalist in New York City, performed in vaudeville theaters, and married Albert Matzke, an illustrator and watercolourist. She also became an author of children's books and a syndicated newspaper columnist. Justin studied art in Indianapolis and New York City and became a landscape painter, illustrator, and muralist.

Gruelle began his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for Indianapolis newspapers. His work was eventually syndicated nationwide. He also completed commissions for illustrations of well-known fairy tales, as well as writing and illustrating his own stories. Gruelle is best known as the creator of a series of stories about a rag doll named Raggedy Ann and her friends. He also created the iconic Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls. In addition to becoming a successful commercial artist and illustrator, cartoonist, writer, and businessman, Gruelle was a nature-lover, storyteller, and spiritualist.

He died unexpectedly of heart failure at his son Worth's home in Miami Springs, Florida, on January 9, 1938, two weeks after his fifty-seventh birthday. Following Gruelle's death, his widow, Myrtle (Swann) Gruelle, took legal action to secure the rights to his works, trademarks and patents. She also continued her efforts to promote his legacy through the Johnny Gruelle Company, the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and other commercial agreements.