Legendary editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant

People will throw around the label of legend in the editorial cartooning profession but Pat Oliphant was truly one. Not only did his editorial cartoons and caricatures slice right through deserving politicians and public figures, his draftsmanship was on a level far above everyone else. No one came close to his drawing ability in editorial cartooning.

I first met Oliphant when I moved to D.C. in the early 1990s. He was signing some books at a now closed cartoon art gallery and being a young editorial cartoonist just starting out, I eagerly attended to get my signed copy. Afterwards as people mingled in the gallery, I gathered up enough courage to go up to him and introduce myself. My then fiancé added “she’s an editorial cartoonist, too”, to which Oliphant looked sternly at me and growled “You do know it’s a dying art, don’t you?” So much for encouraging younger cartoonists.

But it didn’t diminish my admiration for his work or my determination to be a successful editorial cartoonist. Several years later I was invited to a cartoon festival in Israel where Pat Oliphant was the keynote speaker. Susan Conway, his wife (who sadly died earlier this year) and business partner, accompanied him. Susan was a prominent Washington D.C. gallery owner and recognized Pat’s immense talent soon after meeting him. She made it her life’s work to ensure Pat received the credit he was due. I got to know both of them during the festival and they couldn’t have been more friendly. And it turned out Pat was actually a pussycat, charming and sweet.

In 2016 the Columbia Journalism Review approached me to write about an editorial cartoonist who had a great impact on the profession and of course I chose to write about Pat. Since my background is in art I was really excited to write about Pat’s artistic abilities. Here’s an excerpt and you can read the entire article at the Columbia Journalism Review.