Sometimes a cartoonist becomes inextricably likned with a particular topic and for Gerard Hoffnung it was music.
A tuba player himself, Hoffnung (1925-1959) made music the central subject of his work. He was born in Berlin, but Hoffnung’s family moved to London to escape the Nazis in 1939. Though he died only 20 years later, aged 34, he managed to establish himself as a cartoonist with a very English sense of humour.
That humour can be seen in touring exhibition of his work, drawn from the Hoffnung family’s own collection, which is coming to the Chris Beetles Gallery in London. It features many of his best-known musical cartoons.
The gallery will be displaying it alongside the work of William Heath Robinson, in an exhibition called Instruments and Inventions. The exhibition opens on May 25 and runs until June 22. For more details, visit the Chris Beetles Gallery website.