Turkish master cartoonist Ferit Ongoren passed away

Today about 17.00 h on June 07, 2010 dies the master Turkish cartoonist Ferit Öngören in Istanbul, Turkey. After having an operation against cancer of the colon last February, he was suffering from a liver tumor.

Ferit Öngören was born in Diyarbakır, Turkey, in 1932. He spent his childhood in Kütahya’s Tavşanlı township. He graduated from Afyon High School, and the Istanbul University School of Law. In 1956, Öngören moved to Cağaloğlu, the heart of the Turkish press, and began to draw and write. He wrote essays and critiques on art and published the “Yeni A” magazine. He drew cartoons for several magazines such as Akbaba, Dolmuş, Taş, Tef and wrote articles for newspapers like Vatan, Akşam, Günaydın, Gün, Sabah, Bugün, and Meydan. In 1969, he founded the Association of Cartoonists along with Turhan Selçuk and Semih Balcıoğlu. Together they established the Cartoon Museum and launched the International Nasreddin Hodja Cartoon Contest. He co-published books titled “Pictures from Istanbul” with Orhan Kemal and “Petrol” with Edip Cansever. He illustrated folk songs in his album, “Listening to Folk Songs.” He collected and illustrated folktales. Ferit Öngören made illustrations of Istanbul at various times and from different views. He documented the growing of shantytowns around Istanbul with his drawings. Read more