Recognized early on for his controversial involvement with the propaganda apparatus, he later focused on his work for children, and became one of the noted visual artists employed by the Editura Ion Creangă publishing house.
"[3] In the context of the Cold War, Taru became especially known for stereotypical political cartoons, such as those targeting Wall Street business[4] or wealthy peasants known as chiaburi (the equivalent of kulaks).
According to artist Mihai Pînzaru-Pim [ro], who began working for the magazine in 1969, Taru, alongside Cik Damadian and actor Horațiu Mălăele, discreetly stood against the policies enforced by Ceaușescu, defined by him as "the stupid attempt to induce ideology on a wise people".
According to his entry at the National Museum of Art, Taru was one of the local artists "who consolidated the prestige of book illustration as an autonomous genre, enriching the concept of 'illustration' with more complex functions than the mere visualization of a literary sequence or a poetic state.
[12] This estate includes the works of Romanian masters (Ion Andreescu, Alexandru Ciucurencu, Dumitru Ghiață, Lucian Grigorescu, Iosif Iser, Ștefan Luchian, Theodor Pallady, Gheorghe Petrașcu, Nicolae Tonitza, Francisc Șirato) and local painters in whom Taru invested (Ștefan Constantinescu [ro], Ion Pacea [ro]), alongside old samples of Romanian and Russian icons.
[12] Other parts of the collection include Oriental art (Chinese and Japanese porcelain, cloisonné-decorated bronze vessels, a painting in the style of Hanabusa Itchō), as well as European decorative items (such as 18th century French furniture).