Pat Oliphant: Editorial Cartoons from the Nixon and Clinton Eras

February 4 through May 31, 2021

Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Patrick Oliphant was described in 1990 by the New York Times as “the most influential editorial cartoonist” of his time. Spanning more than sixty years, Oliphant’s finely-tuned drawings have cast a clear eye on global politics, culture, the economy, and scandals, and his caricatures of American presidents and other powerful leaders are world renowned. In addition to thousands of daily editorial cartoons, he has also produced personal works, including dozens of bronze sculptures, works on paper, and paintings.

“Do we have something in a different style….?” 1973

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
“Do we have something in a different style….?” 1973
Editorial cartoon for The Denver Post – Los Angeles Times Syndicate, October 12, 1973
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2019.28.58 

On October 12, 1973, President Nixon summoned Rep. Gerald Ford, (R-Mich.), the minority leader, to his hideaway office at the Executive Office Building. He told him that Vice President Spiro Agnew had evidently received illegal payments in his White House office. By the time Ford had returned to the House chamber, the word was out: “Agnew has resigned.” The next day, Nixon met at the White House with Ford and Sen. Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, the Republican leader, to discuss filling the vacancy under the recently ratified 25th Amendment. He asked them to have each of their GOP colleagues send him their top three choices for the office. 

Nixon wanted to appoint John Connally, the treasury secretary. But after meeting with the Democratic congressional leadership he concluded that Connally would have a hard time being confirmed. At Camp David, Nixon prepared an announcement speech with four endings — one each for Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Connally and Ford. In reviewing the suggestions of various party leaders, Nixon found that Rockefeller and Reagan were tied, Connally was third and Ford last. However, among members of Congress, including such Democrats as Sen. Mike Mansfield of Montana, the majority leader, and House Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma, Ford came in first. “They were the ones who would have to approve the man I nominated,” Nixon noted. As Albert later asserted, “We gave Nixon no choice but Ford,” a decision reflected in Oliphant’s witty cartoon.

This important collection of original works by Oliphant has been generously donated by the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, devoted collectors who compiled the largest and most significant body of the artist’s work in private hands. The Oliphant collection features three prominent aspects of the artist’s work⸺his editorial drawings from the Nixon and Clinton years as well as personal drawings, paintings, and sculptures. The donor intends this collection to serve as a means of highlighting political art as a powerful, persuasive, and inspiring form of visual communication. In addition, the collection invites consideration of the role of political illustration in inspiring dialogue, which is of critical importance today as in the past. We are honored to showcase the work of this exceptional illustration master and to preserve and share this important collection for generations to come. 

“Psst! How do I join?” 1969

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
“Psst! How do I join?” 1969
Editorial cartoon for The Denver Post – Los Angeles Times Syndicate, October 12, 1969
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family,
NRM.2019.28.06

The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a nationwide demonstration and teach-in held on October 15, 1969 to protest the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. A Moratorium March took place a month later in Washington, D.C., the first time protest against the war reached the level of a full-fledged mass movement. 

When Richard Nixon took office on January 20, 1969, approximately 34,000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam, and an additional 10,000 troops lost their lives during his first year of office. Though he spoke of plans for “peace with honor,” the general feeling at the time was that his policies regarding Vietnam mirrored those of his predecessor Lyndon Johnson. 

Economic Opportunity Mission, 1973

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
Economic Opportunity Mission, 1973
Editorial cartoon for The Denver Post – Los Angeles Times Syndicate, 1973
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2019.28.37

Oliphant worked through his ideas in pencil with accompanying text in a sketchbook. Then, at his drawing table, he created his final image with ink and pen or quill, completing that day’s work by noon. The art was then scanned and sent to the syndication office, but before the mid-1990s, his daily cartoon was picked up and delivered by a courier.

“Trust me!” 1973

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
“Trust me!” 1973
Editorial cartoon for The Denver Post – Los Angeles Times Syndicate, 1973
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2019.28.42

In his 1972 bid for a second term in office, President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record. Within a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called “Watergate” scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation.

Oliphant’s Satirical Portraits

Since the late nineteenth century, the editorial cartoon has  played a provocative role in presidential politics, countering  partisan advertising with irreverence. Australian-born Pulitzer Prize winner Pat Oliphant (born 1935) hones a distinctive,  repeatable caricature of each incoming president. When each  fails to live up to expectations, those exaggerated figures begin  to age, sag, shrink, weaken, or bloat. Oliphant has summarized  his cartoon depictions of each president since Lyndon Johnson in  a series of bronze sculptures. His images of Richard Nixon as a  haunting and malevolent Napoleon, Gerald Ford as Band-Aided  hollow mask, Jimmy Carter as an insignificant miniature, and  George H. W. Bush as a wizened horseshoe player, remind us  of the powerful impact of satiric portraiture.

About the Patrick Oliphant

Born on July 24, 1935, Patrick Oliphant was raised in a small cabin outside of Adelaide, Australia; he attended a one-room schoolhouse and went on to complete his formal education at a local high school. His interest in drawing was sparked by his father’s work as a government draftsman and he decided at an early age that he wanted to become a journalist. Uninterested in pursuing higher education and still a teenager, in 1952 he began working as a copyboy for Adelaide’s evening newspaper, The News, which had recently been inherited by a young Rupert Murdoch. The following year, Oliphant moved to a rival publication, The Advertiser, where he worked as a press artist, and by 1955 he was drawing editorial cartoons. 

Frustrated by The Advertiser’s conservative editorial policies, Oliphant had his eyes set on working in the United States. Upon completion of a five-year commitment to the publication, he landed a job with the Denver Post after submitting an exceptional portfolio that singled him out over fifty other applicants. Within a year of joining the Post, his work was disseminated internationally by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Oliphant’s reputation grew quickly and in 1967 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. 

In 1975, Oliphant moved to the Washington Star and five years later switched to Universal Press Syndicate. When the Star went out of business in 1981, he decided to remain independent, thus becoming the first political cartoonist in the twentieth century from a home-town newspaper to to work independently. By 1983 Oliphant was the most widely syndicated American cartoonist, with works appearing in more than five hundred publications. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Oliphant has been recognized with numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, National Cartoonists Society, National Wildlife Federation, American Civil Liberties Union, and the Washington Journalism Review. He retired from an active illustration career in 2015 due to challenges with his eyesight.

IMAGES

..But I didn't inhale., 1996

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
..But I didn’t inhale., 1996
Editorial cartoon for Universal Press Syndicate, June 18, 1996
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2020.05.026

During a 1992 candidates’ forum Bill Clinton said, “I’ve never broken a state law.” “But when I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale it, and never tried it again.” This disclosure appeared in the 1996 Republican Presidential campaign ads to imply that Clinton had a soft stand on drugs.

Hillary's Kitchen., 1996

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
Hillary’s Kitchen., 1996
Editorial cartoon for Universal Press Syndicate, January 22, 1996
Ink and ink wash on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2020.05.016

On January 4, 1996, copies of the long-sought after Rose Law Firm’s billing records relating to the failed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan were found in Hillary Clinton’s “book room” at the White House. The subpoenaed documents were to be used in the investigation of Clinton’s involvement in the Whitewater scandal and whether Hillary committed obstruction of justice. 

“I'll take on of those 55-cent Big Macs-and hold the irrational exuberance.” 1997

Patrick Oliphant (b. 1935)
“I’ll take on of those 55-cent Big Macs-and hold the irrational exuberance.” 1997
Editorial cartoon for Universal Press Syndicate, March 5, 1997
Ink on Bristol board
Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, Gift of the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, NRM.2020.05.038

In a December 5, 1996 speech, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan used the phrase “irrational exuberance” to describe investors’ reactions to the tech stock boom. This expression refers to unfounded market optimism that rests on psychological factors rather than a fundamental valuation. In 2000, Greenspan’s fear became a reality when the dot.com bubble burst.

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A look back at the career of cartoonist Pat Oliphant | 7.30

Published: January 15, 2020

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Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA      February 4 – May 31, 2021