Giles: One of the Family is at the Cartoon Museum in London from November 5 until February 8, 2009. Click image to enlarge
Whenever there is a show dedicated to a big name in the world of painting, such as Monet or Rothko, the media describes it as a “blockbuster exhibition”. Well, this must be the equivalent in the cartooning world, as it features one of the giants of the artform: Carl Giles (1916-1995).
The exhibition of more than 80 works includes wonderful colour covers as well as drawings never reproduced in the annuals. His studio is recreated complete with desk, drawing board and reference material. Also revealed are less familiar aspects of his career including his time as an animator, his propaganda work for the Ministry of Information and his work as cartooning war correspondent.
The Cartoon Museum, Little Russell Street, London, is open: Tues-Sat, 10.30am-5.30pm and Sun 12pm-5.30pm. Admission: Adults £4, Concessions £3, Free to Under 18s and students.
Here are two must-see cartoon exhibitions which are currently running:
Steve Bell’s Drawing Politics and Other Animals is a free exhibition at the Lightbox, in Woking. Re-live the political scandals of the 1980s and 1990s through the drawings and original artwork of Britain’s most renowned political cartoonist.
Cartoons and Coronets: The Genius of Osbert Lancaster is at the Wallace Collection in West London. This free exhibition, which marks the centenary of Lancaster’s birth, celebrates his astonishing range as an artist and as a chronicler of style and fashion.