Cartoons
The Art of Laughter (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, till 24 May)
Rapiers, not cudgels
Kenneth Baker
The art of the political cartoon started in the middle of the 18th century, for it required the conditions of a free press and freedom from arbitrary arrest. In earlier ages, the malice, wit and ridicule of politi- cal cartoonists would certainly have led to their early demise. Nero would have thrown them to the lions, Henry VIII would have struck off their heads and Oliv- er Cromwell, that pious lover of freedom, would have had them shot with the Lev- ellers at Burford. Not so today! Our Gar-
'An attic converted to a flat suitable to a black and white artist', by Heath Robinson
lands, Trogs, Scarfes and Cummingses are more likely to go to an investiture at Buck- ingham Palace than to an internment in the Tower. Even in the 18th century there were laws of criminal libel. The Prince Regent encouraged the Crown to prosecute car- toonists. But, when he discovered that juries in London would not convict, he set- tled for putting the cartoonists on the royal payroll — so long as they produced flatter- ing drawings of himself.
The political caricature started in Italy in the early 18th century. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who always recognised a good thing when she saw it, wrote to the wit Bubb Doddington after she had lost favour with the Queen, 'Young man, you come from Italy. They tell me of a new invention there called caricatura drawing. Can you find me somebody that will make me a caricature of Lady Masham, describ- ing her covered with many sores and ulcers, that I may send it to the Queen to give her a slight idea of her favourite'.
The excellent catalogue which accompa- nies the Cartoon Arts Trust's exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum records the very many fine caricaturists our country has pro- duced since that time. The greatest was undoubtedly Gillray, but his contempories Rowlandson, Heath and Cruickshank were all masters. In the 19th century there were Doyle, Leech, Tenniel and Furniss, and in this century Beerbohm, Low, Bateman and Vicky.
A successful cartoon must have immedi- ate impact. Some of the best are the sim- plest: the curving lines of Max Beerbohm, the economy of Phil May and the stark black-and-white drawings of Low. The best are also those that do not grossly exagger- ate. The cartoonist wants to bring out a foible, a weakness, a mannerism that not only identifies but depicts the fatal flaw in the character of the victim. Gil!ray's great cartoon of the Prince Regent, 'A Volup- tuary under the Horrors of Digestion', which Garland recently parodied on the cover of The Spectator, displays George as a sprawling figure, glutted with food and wine, but also as a man who had once been handsome and elegant now on the verge of turning into a corpulent, indulgent slob. Little wonder that George wanted to put him in jail. Such a depiction of reality is much more effective than a gross distor- tion. The art of caricature is a subtle one. It is a duel, not a brawl, and the weapon is the rapier, not the cudgel. Every cartoonist should bear in mind the words of Dryden, for what he said of satire also applies to caricature: 'There is still a vast difference betwixt the slovenly butchering of a man and the finest of a stroke that separates the head from the body and leaves it standing in its place'.
This exhibition, however, is not just about political caricature. It also has some wonderful drawings, social comment and sheer zany humour. There is Pont with his exquisite understanding of British charac- ter, Bateman the master of social sole- cisms, and Heath Robinson who through his crazy mechanical contraptions gave his name to the English language. McGill,
Fougasse, Hoffnung, Emmett and Searle — how lucky we are to have such a range of talent, wit and originality.
The work of all these and others can be seen at the current exhibition. It is a great Randolph Churchill, by Vicky
pity that we do not have a permanent site for the display of one of Britain's richest veins of art. The Cartoon Trust is trying to raise £1.5 million for such a museum. Per- haps the patron of this exhibition, Mr Paul Hamlyn, could be persuaded to help, but if not, why not the owner of The Spectator? Mr Conrad Black has a deep knowledge of the history of our country and through the various papers he owns he must employ many cartoonists who no doubt give him 'The British Character —Absence of the Gift of Conversation', by Pont, in Punch 1935
enormous pleasure. Now that he has saved the Telegraph from becoming a museum, he could perhaps found a proper one!
Kenneth Baker is the Home Secretary,
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