16.04.02
Exhibition
celebrates the 20th Century's greatest cartoonist
A free
exhibition celebrating the work of Sir David Low, whose distinctive
cartoons provide a unique record and commentary on British and international
politics for some of the most crucial decades of the 20th Century,
is being held at Westminster Hall for six months from May.
Low:
the 20th Century's Greatest Cartoonist, is being staged in the hall
- in the news so much recently following the death of the Queen
Mother - from 9 May until 31 October, jointly organised by the Political
Cartoon Society and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ History Magazine, which is sponsoring the
event.
The
exhibition consists of 110 of Low's finest original cartoons, caricatures
and illustrations - including many on public display for the first
time - as well as work by today's leading cartoonists, showing Low's
continuing influence.
Including events ranging from the Second World War and subsequent
Cold War to the Abdication of Edward VIII and the present Queen's
Coronation, the exhibition covers the period from the end of the
Lloyd George coalition government in 1922 to Edward Heath's attempts
to negotiate Britain's entry into the EEC on behalf of the Macmillan
government in the early 1960s.
Highlights
include the classic image, `All behind you, Winston', drawn the
week Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940 and the only cartoon
Clement Attlee (a member of the wartime government and Labour prime
minister from 1945-51) ever requested from a cartoonist. One of
the first cartoons used by the British press to attack colour discrimination
will also be on display: Low's response to Learie Constantine, the
great West Indian cricketer, being refused entry in 1943 to a London
hotel where white US officers, some from southern states, were staying.
Low
demanded editorial freedom and independence from the proprietors
of those newspapers he worked for, and was no stranger to controversy.
His character Colonel Blimp, became a byword - even a dictionary
definition - for a particular brand of reactionary, and inspired
a wartime film that was nearly banned; while his characterisation
of the trade union 'carthorse' was equally controversial. Nor did
he stick to domestic issues. Low was an implacable opponent of the
dictators of the 1930s - Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin - and British
efforts to appease them. Hitler particularly objected to Low's work,
and the cartoonist was one of those Britons whose names were included
in a Nazi death-list. Low also commented pungently on the moves
for independence in India in the 1930s and among the African nations
from the 1950s onwards. Widely syndicated in his day, Low's cartoons
now feature among many A-Level study texts.
A section
of the exhibition will be devoted to 20 of Low's pencil portraits
of leading politicians, most of which appeared in the New Statesman
during the 1920s and 30s, and another of the highlights will be
the chance to watch political commentator Robert Mackenzie's 1957
television interview with Low.
Greg Neale, Editor of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ History Magazine, which is publishing
a special supplement on Low and the Press with its May issue (on
sale 23 April), as well as the official exhibition catalogue, said:
"Far from being ephemeral items, the work of the great cartoonists
- and the newspapers they first appeared in - helped make history,
and have themselves become historically important. Few if any cartoonists
have captured the mood of their day or interpreted its political
events as effectively as David Low, whose work remains so instantly
recognisable and whose influence has been so enduring.
"This
will be an important exhibition for anyone wanting to know more
about the episodes that shaped the Twentieth century, as well as
a celebration of Low, the art of the cartoon and the importance
of our Press. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ History Magazine is very proud to sponsor this
exhibition, and very grateful to the many members and officials
at the Palace of Westminster, as well as cartoon donors, who have
helped make it possible."
Says
Tony Banks MP, who chairs of the House of Commons Advisory Committee
on Works of Art: "In Westminster Hall we can trace the very
routes of parliamentary democracy. David Low did more than most
to alert the nation to the threat against that same democracy from
Facism and Nazism. A more appropriate location for an exhibition
of his work is hard to imagine."
Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to savour the rich
history of the massive Westminster Hall, originally built between
1097 and 1099 for Willliam Rufus, and transformed by Richard II
in the late 14th century into one of the country's finest Perpendicular
Gothic structures. It has been the location of momentous events,
such as the trials of Charles I, Sir Thomas More and Guy Fawkes;
and the lying in state of members of the Royal family (most recently
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) and two notable commoners, William
Gladstone and Winston Churchill.
Opening
Times
9th May to 2nd Aug 9am to 1pm Mon to Thurs; 9am to 5pm Fri
3rd Aug to 28th Sept 9am to 6pm Mon to Sat; 9am to 6pm Sun 22nd
Sept
1st Oct to 31st Oct 9am to 1pm Mon to Thurs; 9am to 5pm Friday
Notes
to editors:
Low: the 20th Century's Greatest Cartoonist is held in Westminster
Hall by kind permission of the Speaker, the Lord Chancellor and
the Lord Great Chamberlain. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ History Magazine also wishes to
acknowledge the kind support of the House of Commons Advisory Committee
on Works of Art, chaired by Tony Banks MP, and the House of Lords
Advisory Panel on Works of Art, chaired by Baroness Hilton of Eggardon.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
History Magazine is published by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Magazines: a division of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Worldwide Ltd, the main commercial arm of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Launched in August
2000, the magazine has an official circulation of 50,082 (ABC: Jul
to Dec 2001).
The
Political Cartoon Society is an organisation for those interested
in history and politics through the medium of cartoons.
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