Cartoons and Coronets: The Genius of Osbert Lancaster

Nice little exhibition at the Wallace Collection to mark the centenary of the birth of Osbert Lancaster the cartoonist.

Although it was only 3 rooms big the exhibition was packed with cartoons and other items by Osbert Lancaster. Starting with his work for the Architectural Review and books such as “Homes sweet home” it also looked at his travel writing and work for the theatre.

There was an excellent display of works for “The Littlehampton Bequest” a book based on an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of spoof portraits of a family over the centuries. Each was done in the style of a painter of the time such as Holbein or Stubbs. Many of these made me laugh out loud! A shade embarrassing!

There was also a section on his cartoons for the Daily Mail. He brought the idea of the pocket cartoon (a one column width cartoon) to Britain and worked for the Mail for 40 years. Many of these seemed so fresh an relevant event today.

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