J Wesley Brown

Wes Brown was raised in five different towns in North Dakota, but the consistent "home place" was Ridgeview, the farm where his mother was raised. Summer vacations were spent at Ridgeview with the cousins, aunts, and uncles for whom the prairie homestead was, indeed, home.Wes was teaching at St. Olaf College when he met student Ward Sutton. At St. Olaf College, Ward also met the Duke's daughter, Sue Unkenholz. It was Wes's honor to officiate the wedding of Ward and Sue at Ridgeview, the prairie...See more

Wes Brown was raised in five different towns in North Dakota, but the consistent "home place" was Ridgeview, the farm where his mother was raised. Summer vacations were spent at Ridgeview with the cousins, aunts, and uncles for whom the prairie homestead was, indeed, home.Wes was teaching at St. Olaf College when he met student Ward Sutton. At St. Olaf College, Ward also met the Duke's daughter, Sue Unkenholz. It was Wes's honor to officiate the wedding of Ward and Sue at Ridgeview, the prairie homestead, and the setting for The Duke of Guacamole and the Earl of Escargot. About the Illustrator: Ward Sutton married the daughter of the Duke 30 years ago on Ridgeview Farm, in a service presided over by the Earl. His cartoons earned him the prestigious Herblock Prize (2018) and Berryman Award (2022). His illustrations appear in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He has created poster designs for Broadway, the Sundance Film Festival, and musicians (Pearl Jam, Phish, etc.). His alter-ego is Stan Kelly, weekly cartoonist for The Onion. Kelly's cartoons spawned the viral "Sickos" meme, were collected in a book in 2016, and showed at Shepard Fairey's LA gallery in 2024. See less