| A Brief History of Canadian Editorial Cartooning |
The art of the political cartoon as we know it in Canada today began in the 1870's when John W. BENGOUGH
(1851-1923) started publishing his satirical magazine, Grip. In its pages, Bengough pilloried Canada's first prime
minister, John A. MACDONALD, and since then each prime minister has had their own alter-ego with a sketchpad:
Sir Wifrid LAURIER had to contend with Henri JULIEN (1852-1908), Mackenzie KING with Arch Dale (1932-1962),
John DIEFENBAKER with Duncan MACPHERSON (1924-1993), Pierre TRUDEAU with Jean- Pierre Girerd (b 1931) and
Brian MULRONEY with Aislin (Terry MOSHER, b 1942).
The art is ephemeral. Artists must create caricatures on a daily basis as a commentary on a news event. Once the
drawings appear they are as relevant as yesterday's newspaper. They are not comic strips drawn to tell a story
and get a chuckle, nor are they illustrations created by graphic artists. They often exceed the bounds of fair
editorial comment and are usually drawn to make their subjects look ridiculous.
The first celebrated example in Canada was the work of Brigadier-General George TOWNSHEND who served with
General James WOLFE at Québec in 1759. Townshend drew sketches to under-mine his commander's
reputation. It wasn't until the arrival of Punch in Canada in the 1840s that editorial cartoons began to appear on a
regular basis. Punch spawned other homegrown publications such as Grinchuckle, Canadian Illustrated News,
and L'Opinion Publique, which carried illustrations that imitated the work of Britain's John Leech (1817-1864), the
first cartoonist in the contemporary sense of the word.
By the time Bengough introduced Grip in 1873 he was influenced by the leading US caricaturist, German-born
Thomas Nast (1840-1902). The Montreal Star became the first newspaper in Canada to employ an editorial
cartoonist when Henri Julien was hired in 1888 to do "news pictures." He was the first cartoonist to be honored
with an exhibition at the NATIONAL GALLERY in Ottawa, and a street in Montréal is named in his honour.
With the introduction of half-tone photo engraving, the art of caricature generally declined during the first half of
the 20th century. David Low (1891-1963) revived it at The London Evening Standard during World War II,
lampooning Hitler and Churchill. At about the same time The Halifax Chronicle Herald hired Bob Chambers
(1905-1996) and John Collins (b 1917) began working at The Gazette in Montréal. For many years, however,
cartoons in Canadian newspapers were pale imitations of Low's work, or were influenced by the ubiquitous
drawings of syndicated US artists Herbert Block ("Herblock" b 1909) at The Washington Post and Bill Maudlin (b
1921) at The Chicago Sun Times.
A distinctive Canadian style emerged after World War II. Led by Robert LAPALME (1908-1997) at Le Devoir; Duncan
Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris (1913-1997) at the Vancouver Sun and the Montreal Star's Ed
McNally (1916-1971), cartoons broke with accepted cliches. Their drawings were sharper and often more savage
than American cartoons, which arguably tend to be more allegorical. Canadian cartoonists also began to wield a
greater degree of independence than their US counterparts; they divorced themselves from the art department
and created a separate editorial entity, autonomous in its own right. It is now not uncommon for an editorial
cartoon to contradict the stated editorial position of a Canadian newspaper.
By 1949, cartoons had become so persuasive the Canadian National Newspaper Awards decided to honour those
that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest".
The first recipient was the Globe and Mail's Jack Boothe (1910- 1973), at the time the highest paid political
cartoonist in the country. Duncan MacPherson holds the record for NN Awards, with six. Among the winners are
some of the country's leading cartoonists, including the Dean of Canadian cartooning, Merle Tingley (b 1921),
whose trademark, a pipe smoking worm named Luke, has been around for more than 50 years; Yardley Jones (b
1930); Roy Peterson (b 1936); Andy Donato (b 1937); and Vance Rodewalt (b 1946). The art was further recognized
when an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon organized by Robert LaPalme in Montréal was held for
the first time in 1963.
The Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a group which was formed in the 1980's in the interests of
creating contact and dialogue among professional editorial cartoonists, and dealing with issues that concern
them, thereby establishing a form of solidarity through which their interests could be better defined. Initially,
most of its business revolved around the production of the book "Portfoolio", the annual collection of "The Best
Of..." Canadian editorial cartoons, but the association soon evolved into a body which dealt with legal,
professional and developmental issues, among others.
First rate editorial cartoonists are members of a select club. There are no more than two dozen employed at any
one time in Canada. Among the new breed of distinguished artists are Serge Chapleau (b 1945) at La Presse, Dale
Cummings (b 1948) at the Winnipeg Free Press, the Ottawa Sun's Susan Dewar (b 1949), Le Droit's Guy Badeaux (b
1949), the Globe and Mail's Brian Gable (b 1949), John Larter (b 1950) at the Calgary Sun, the Halifax Herald's
Bruce MacKinnon (b 1961) and at the Gazette, Terry Mosher (b 1942).
No matter how savage the drawings, most politicians consider a political cartoon a badge of distinction. It is not
uncommon for the subject to publicly denounce a caricature, then privately attempt to acquire the original for
their collection.
(1851-1923) started publishing his satirical magazine, Grip. In its pages, Bengough pilloried Canada's first prime
minister, John A. MACDONALD, and since then each prime minister has had their own alter-ego with a sketchpad:
Sir Wifrid LAURIER had to contend with Henri JULIEN (1852-1908), Mackenzie KING with Arch Dale (1932-1962),
John DIEFENBAKER with Duncan MACPHERSON (1924-1993), Pierre TRUDEAU with Jean- Pierre Girerd (b 1931) and
Brian MULRONEY with Aislin (Terry MOSHER, b 1942).
The art is ephemeral. Artists must create caricatures on a daily basis as a commentary on a news event. Once the
drawings appear they are as relevant as yesterday's newspaper. They are not comic strips drawn to tell a story
and get a chuckle, nor are they illustrations created by graphic artists. They often exceed the bounds of fair
editorial comment and are usually drawn to make their subjects look ridiculous.
The first celebrated example in Canada was the work of Brigadier-General George TOWNSHEND who served with
General James WOLFE at Québec in 1759. Townshend drew sketches to under-mine his commander's
reputation. It wasn't until the arrival of Punch in Canada in the 1840s that editorial cartoons began to appear on a
regular basis. Punch spawned other homegrown publications such as Grinchuckle, Canadian Illustrated News,
and L'Opinion Publique, which carried illustrations that imitated the work of Britain's John Leech (1817-1864), the
first cartoonist in the contemporary sense of the word.
By the time Bengough introduced Grip in 1873 he was influenced by the leading US caricaturist, German-born
Thomas Nast (1840-1902). The Montreal Star became the first newspaper in Canada to employ an editorial
cartoonist when Henri Julien was hired in 1888 to do "news pictures." He was the first cartoonist to be honored
with an exhibition at the NATIONAL GALLERY in Ottawa, and a street in Montréal is named in his honour.
With the introduction of half-tone photo engraving, the art of caricature generally declined during the first half of
the 20th century. David Low (1891-1963) revived it at The London Evening Standard during World War II,
lampooning Hitler and Churchill. At about the same time The Halifax Chronicle Herald hired Bob Chambers
(1905-1996) and John Collins (b 1917) began working at The Gazette in Montréal. For many years, however,
cartoons in Canadian newspapers were pale imitations of Low's work, or were influenced by the ubiquitous
drawings of syndicated US artists Herbert Block ("Herblock" b 1909) at The Washington Post and Bill Maudlin (b
1921) at The Chicago Sun Times.
A distinctive Canadian style emerged after World War II. Led by Robert LAPALME (1908-1997) at Le Devoir; Duncan
Macpherson at the Toronto Star, Leonard Norris (1913-1997) at the Vancouver Sun and the Montreal Star's Ed
McNally (1916-1971), cartoons broke with accepted cliches. Their drawings were sharper and often more savage
than American cartoons, which arguably tend to be more allegorical. Canadian cartoonists also began to wield a
greater degree of independence than their US counterparts; they divorced themselves from the art department
and created a separate editorial entity, autonomous in its own right. It is now not uncommon for an editorial
cartoon to contradict the stated editorial position of a Canadian newspaper.
By 1949, cartoons had become so persuasive the Canadian National Newspaper Awards decided to honour those
that "embody an idea made clearly apparent, good drawing, and striking pictorial effect in the public interest".
The first recipient was the Globe and Mail's Jack Boothe (1910- 1973), at the time the highest paid political
cartoonist in the country. Duncan MacPherson holds the record for NN Awards, with six. Among the winners are
some of the country's leading cartoonists, including the Dean of Canadian cartooning, Merle Tingley (b 1921),
whose trademark, a pipe smoking worm named Luke, has been around for more than 50 years; Yardley Jones (b
1930); Roy Peterson (b 1936); Andy Donato (b 1937); and Vance Rodewalt (b 1946). The art was further recognized
when an International Salon of Caricature and Cartoon organized by Robert LaPalme in Montréal was held for
the first time in 1963.
The Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists is a group which was formed in the 1980's in the interests of
creating contact and dialogue among professional editorial cartoonists, and dealing with issues that concern
them, thereby establishing a form of solidarity through which their interests could be better defined. Initially,
most of its business revolved around the production of the book "Portfoolio", the annual collection of "The Best
Of..." Canadian editorial cartoons, but the association soon evolved into a body which dealt with legal,
professional and developmental issues, among others.
First rate editorial cartoonists are members of a select club. There are no more than two dozen employed at any
one time in Canada. Among the new breed of distinguished artists are Serge Chapleau (b 1945) at La Presse, Dale
Cummings (b 1948) at the Winnipeg Free Press, the Ottawa Sun's Susan Dewar (b 1949), Le Droit's Guy Badeaux (b
1949), the Globe and Mail's Brian Gable (b 1949), John Larter (b 1950) at the Calgary Sun, the Halifax Herald's
Bruce MacKinnon (b 1961) and at the Gazette, Terry Mosher (b 1942).
No matter how savage the drawings, most politicians consider a political cartoon a badge of distinction. It is not
uncommon for the subject to publicly denounce a caricature, then privately attempt to acquire the original for
their collection.
