Character
Character
Exaggerating politicians’ physical traits has long been a key element of visual satire. In a time before broadcast media, representation of specific traits made figures recognizable to readers who would likely never have seen that leader in person. Expert satirists like Pat Oliphant emphasize a single physical trait to comment on a person’s character, and thus their fitness for office. Oliphant used Bob Dole’s glowering eyebrows to hint at Dole’s notoriously caustic wit. Similarly, Ross Perot’s Dumbo-esque ears let readers know that the Texas billionaire may be too eccentric and goofy to be President. The more distinctive a leader’s appearance, the easier he was to satirize. Representing Theodore Roosevelt as an outlandishly grinning jack-o’-lantern points to Roosevelt’s erratic enthusiasm and aggression, while James Akin’s depiction placed John Calhoun’s elongated face on an unmanageable racehorse named “Nullifyer” to link Calhoun’s hot temper with his extremist defenses of slavery.
James M. Reilly, “Hallowe’en Card from Grandpa T.R.,” ink drawing with watercolor (n.p., c. 1909). [Catalog Record]
James Akin, “Nullifyer: The Property of the Honble. John C. Calhoun,” lithograph (Philadelphia, c. 1832). [Catalog Record]
Edward Williams Clay, “Handicap race, presidential stakes” (New York: J. Childs, c. 1844). [Catalog Record]
Edward Williams Clay, “Set-to between the champion old tip & the swell Dutchman of Kinderhook” (New York: H.R. Robinson, c. 1836). [Catalog Record]
Pat Oliphant, Bob Dole’s eyebrows, charcoal sketch, 1996. Courtesy of the Wallace House Center for Journalists.
Pat Oliphant, Ross Perot, charcoal sketch, 1998. Courtesy of the Wallace House Center for Journalists.
