MIDDLEBURY — On the occasion of this year’s national presidential election the Middlebury College Museum of Art has mounted an exhibit of 20 political cartoons — and one bronze sculpture — created by the noted political cartoonist Patrick Bruce “Pat” Oliphant (b.1935).
“Oliphant: Editorial Cartoons and the American Presidency, 1968-2012” features 10 caricatures, acquired by the museum in 2010 and never previously exhibited, which provide historical insight into issues that preoccupied Americans during the 36th through 43rd presidencies — i.e., from Lyndon B. Johnson to George W. Bush — as well as 10 caricatures, on loan from the artist himself, pertaining to the current election.
Political cartoons have been part of the American landscape since the 18th century and, as a consequence, prominent figures in the public sphere have been considered fair game for rebuke. Such activity reached new heights in the 19th century with the advent of lithography, which reduced printing costs and permitted large print runs. Particularly notable caricatures began to appear with the presidency of Andrew Jackson and increased steadily during the years leading up to the Civil War.
Prior to the modern era, the greatest surge in political caricatures appeared during the 1860 presidential campaign and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The national issues of secession, abolition of slavery, and the possibility of war gave an unprecedented urgency to the national discussions in which caricatures of political leaders were intended to reflect and influence public opinion.
A native of Australia, Oliphant’s first American cartoons appeared in 1965 in theDenver Post. Two years later he received the Pulitzer Prize for a 1966 cartoon about the Vietnam War.
During his extensive career Oliphant has grappled with numerous political subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and the Cold War to media sensationalism, NATO, and Supreme Court nominations, all of which are represented in the exhibition. Particularly striking examples include Richard Nixon’s “October Surprise” in which he is depicted with a white dove and an olive branch Scotch taped to his forehead, Gerald Ford as a boxer campaigning for re-election, and Bill Clinton drawn as both an angel and a mobster.
The exhibit also includes 10 caricatures pertaining to the current election — five focused on Gov. Romney and five on President Obama — dealing with issues such as Romney’s lack of touch with the common voter and Obama’s aloofness.
Of special note is the sculpture of President Richard Nixon on horseback, the first in a continuing series of presidential portraits in bronze. Oliphant is one of the few widely syndicated political cartoonists to venture into sculpture. His three-dimensional works retain a satirical edge, but, removed from an explicitly editorial context, present more emotionally complex characters. Through posture, expression and allusion, the artist draws out the certain pathos of a man brought low before the people he once governed.
Sam Tolzmann, class of 2014, a 2012 summer intern in the museum, contributed the wall texts that provide a historical context for the Oliphant cartoons in the collection.
The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 9.
For further information and to confirm dates and times of scheduled events, please call (802) 443-5007 or TTY (802) 443-3155, or visit the museum’s website at museum.middlebury.edu.