A New York City Exhibition Celebrates Snoopy’s Enduring Influence on Art and Fashion

Well-known as a World War I flying ace, multisport star, suave college kid “Joe Cool” and, most endearingly, the loyal companion to an oft-beleaguered Charlie Brown, Snoopy has worn many hats—and uniforms and glasses. Now, in a brand-new exhibition, these myriad identities and styles are being highlighted. Opened this week, “Snoopy in Style NYC” celebrates the lasting cultural influence of America’s favorite cartoon beagle.

The gallery, open with free admission through September 26 in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, tells the story of Snoopy’s ascension from the pages of Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip to that of a global pop culture icon. The display emphasizes Snoopy’s decades-long commercial and creative appeal, with installations curated by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.

At its center is a collection of Snoopy and Woodstock dolls dressed in custom outfits from a variety of brands: Adidas, Coach, Levi’s and more, reports amNY’s Emily Davenport-Salcedo. Her first collaboration with the comic strip was for a calendar in 1961. After that, she started doing sweatshirts and banners and all that.

She kind of set a standard for licensing, which up until she came along had not always been that high.” Snoopy’s stardom surged in the late 1960s, wrote the Atlantic’s Sarah Boxer in 2015, due in part to the charm of his many identities. In 1968, he became a mascot for NASA, while the “Silver Snoopy” award—featuring the character in a space suit—was created for staff and contractors who complete “outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success,” according to the agency. That same year, he emerged as a popular write-in candidate during the U.S. presidential election.

The exhibition also spotlights the iconic fashions of the “Peanuts” characters—Charlie Brown’s zig-zag shirt, Linus’ security blanket and Sally’s polka-dot dress among them. Schulz “understood that characters, like people, had a distinct sense of style,” Jean Schulz, the widow of Charles Schulz and president of the museum’s board of directors, tells amNY. In addition to clothing, amusement parks, cafes and gardens feature his friendly likeness.

As author Jonathan Franzen wrote of the character, Snoopy is a “quick-change artist who, for the sheer joy of it, can become a helicopter or a hockey player or Head Beagle and then again, in a flash, before his virtuosity has a chance to alienate you or diminish you, be the eager little dog who just wants dinner.” Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer and photographer from Chicago. His work, which often centers on freshwater issues, climate change and subsistence, has appeared in Circle of Blue, Sierra magazine, Discover magazine and Alaska Sporting Journal.