Patrick Oliphant : An Evergreen Cartoonist

Mr.Patrick Bruce Oliphant was born in July 24 1935 in Australia. He is popularly known as “pat”. Mr. Oliphant’s career started as a copy boy with the Adelaide News. He used to do all the small works related to copy in the ‘Adelaide News’. This gave him much needed experience. Later he worked as a staff cartoonist in the Adelaide Advertising before shifting to America.

Mr.Patrick Bruce Oliphant

Mr. Oliphant got job in ‘The Denver Post’ in America. He replaced, Paul Conrad in the paper and brought his own style. Later in life he moved to the ‘Washington Post’ paper. American professional cartoonists Jack Ohman describes him as a,” one who (Mr.Patrick Bruce Oliphant) created a sensation here because he combined a brilliant writing style with a very accessible, bold line stroke that shattered the standard cartoon tropes of elephants, donkeys, ticking time bombs, and furrowed-brow Uncle Sam. Oliphant threw stones when a lot of his peers were throwing sponges”.

Patrick Bruce Oliphant’s worked for more than 50 years; still he kept fresh approach of looking towards the happenings and his work. Oliphant has influence of great cartoonist Illingworth, Low, and Searle in his work. “Punk the penguin” was his signature cartoon. Mr. Oliphant says so many cartoonists draw the same year after year, when they find a style, they stick with it. They don't mess with innovation, and they become boring. He adopted new styles in order keep freshness in his cartoons. Oliphant calls himself a liberal ideologically. Today he is considered as one of the founding fathers of modern American political cartoons.

Credit-http://www.loc.gov/

Oliphant won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1966 with this cartoon showing  Ho Chi Minh, president of North Vietnam, carrying a dead Vietnam soldier. By 1966 there were 190,000 American troops in South Vietnam, and North Vietnam was receiving military support from the USSR and other Communist states. North Vietnam was asking South Vietnam to denounce US support to begin with peace talks. This picture not just talks about the war but also tells how Americans were looking at Vietnam War. By showing dead soldier and laughing general shows that North Vietnam cocky and irresponsible attitude as perceived by American society and as a cartoonist.

Oliphant weds two great traditions in political cartooning: the subtle wit and detailed artistry of the British tradition with the more blunt, spare style that persists in America as critique by ‘Library of Congress’ at their website(www. loc.gov/exhibits/oliphant/oliphant.html). At the Library of Congress his cartoons and sketchbooks will be preserved alongside the most extensive collection of American political prints in existence. When asked how it feels to be winner of the ’Pulitzer Prize’, the ‘National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award’, the ‘Reuben Award, the ‘Thomas Nat Prize’, Mr. Oliphant politely replied, “I can always see what I've done wrong. I'm always learning. I'm the perennial student”.

Oliphant sustained successfully in the field over 50 years; so going by above note on him, what made him contemporary cartoonists more than 50 years?