Cartoon depicting U.S. President Barack Obama.
Gerald Scarfe is a world renowned British political cartoonist and caricaturist. He's instantly recognizable for his swift, pointy linework and often monstrous-looking caricatures of politicians. In 1966, he was the first cartoonist since the Victorian era to openly portray and ridicule the British monarch. His notability among the general public rose thanks to his work for Pink Floyd, particularly their cult movie 'Pink Floyd: The Wall' (1982), which featured his animated sequences. Fans of British comedy might recognize his style from the opening credits of the sitcom 'Yes Minister' (1980-1984) and its follow-up 'Yes, Prime Minister' (1986-1988). Last but not least, he designed the graphic look of the Walt Disney film 'Hercules' (1997).
Early life and career
Gerald Scarfe was born in 1936 in St. John's Wood, London. His father was a banker and his mother a teacher. Bedridden by a severe case of asthma, Scarfe felt isolated and anxious as a boy. He was given very strong medication, like ephedrine, which often caused hallucinations. It made him aware from a very young age that life was fragile and frightening. To keep himself sane and occupied, the boy started drawing and making plasticine models. His main inspirations were Francis Bacon, Ronald Searle, William Hogarth, Saul Steinberg, George Grosz, Max Beerbohm, Honoré Daumier, Pablo Picasso, André François, Al Hirschfeld and Walt Disney. In 1952, the 16-year old won a contest organized by British comic magazine Eagle and saw his cartoons appear in their pages while he was still in school. They appeared in issue #31 (7 November 1952) and again #37 (19 December 1952), with future pop art painter David Hockney coming in in second place.
After leaving school at age 16, Scarfe received a job at his uncle's advertising art studio at Elephant and Castle, London. In the evenings, he took art classes at Saint Martin's School of Art, London College of Printing and East Ham Technical College in London. One of his fellow students at the latter college was Ralph Steadman. Steadman and Scarfe were originally good friends, but the fact that their graphic styles shared similarities turned into their disadvantage when they both started applying cartoons to the same magazines. Once Scarfe's career started rolling, Steadman was unfairly regarded as just an imitation of the former and had a longer struggle to get his work into steady publication. The tensions led to bitter rivarly, with Steadman's wife eventually writing Scarfe an angry, accusative letter, whereupon the cartoonists broke all ties together.
In 1981, Scarfe married Jane Asher, formerly famous as the girlfriend of Beatle Paul McCartney.
Margaret Thatcher by Gerald Scarfe. The bespectacled man cannibalized by her is party member John Major.
Cartooning career
Although advertising art was a steady vocation, Scarfe felt bored and corrupted by the job, which basically required him to make technically perfect illustrations of products to lure customers into buying them. Interviewed by Gary Groth for Comics Journal #310 (Winter-Spring 2024), Scarfe felt that he was abusing his talent at the time: "(...) This advertising was lies — attempts to hoodwink the public. … It was so untruthful. So I was telling lies. I was helping sell things to the public and being fraudulent about it. I hated it. … I think that’s another reason my cartoons became ultra truthful because I realized the whole point of being an artist was telling the truth and if one misuses it and prostitutes it by doing lying drawings, it’s wrong." As a result, he started sending cartoons to various publications.
In 1957, Scarfe's earliest cartoons appeared in The Daily Sketch, followed by newspapers like The Daily Mail, The Evening Standard, The New Statesman and The Sunday Times, alongside magazines like Private Eye, Punch and Time. He also considered becoming a comic artist, creating a few samples for a 'Robin Hood' comic, but they were rejected. Scarfe concluded that comics and traditional humor cartoons weren't really his thing. He wasn't good in thinking up gag and stories. Although Punch's editors could suggest jokes to him, it all seemed just as trivial and factory-like as the advertising art he churned out at his previous job. In the newly established satirical magazine Private Eye, he found his real goal in life. At the instigation of his editors, he was asked to draw political cartoons. However, at the time, he faced two major obstacles: he wasn't familiar with most editorial cartoonists, both past and present, and didn't feel at ease with caricature. To get a grip on how human faces and bodies are constructed, Scarfe started attending figure drawing classes, while reading medical books to study anatomy, muscle tissues and bone structure. In his opinion, caricaturing is effectively dismembering someone's face and then putting it back together again. As he mimicked these anatomical llustrations and applied them on famous faces, they started looking more like monsters than humans. Their faces and bodies were grotesque distortions. But it gave him an distinctive style that instantly captured readers' attentions. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, most editorial cartoons were quite sober and gentle. Scarfe's cartoons exploded to all ends of the page, using expressive, curly lines, reducing people to pointy-faced noses, dumbo ears and fang-like teeth. Readers quickly nicknamed him "an angry cartoonist".
In 1965, Scarfe travelled to Vietnam to make drawings for The Daily Mail, covering the ongoing war. He received permission to make sketches in a U.S. army mortuary, but Scarfe was traumatized by the very young teenagers and twens, barely out of school, going into battle. They were frightened out of their minds", ending up as "lumps of meat" in the mortuary. When he tried sketching there, he felt very uncomfortable: "I couldn't do it. I started sweating and had to go outside." His war drawings were published under the title 'Sketches From Vietnam' (Cape, London, 1968). For the magazine Fortune, Scarfe covered the 1968 U.S. Presidential elections. In the late 1960s, Scarfe also covered the civil war in Northern Ireland for The Sunday Times. Once there, he was driven around in a passenger car, accidentally entering a no-go zone and told by I.R.A. activists to step out of the vehicle. He was held in custody for five minutes and then released again. Scarfe worked for The Sunday Times for decades, since chief editor Harry Evans gave him the right amount of creative freedom. Even when the paper was bought by Rupert Murdoch in March 1981 and became more right-wing conversative and neo-liberal, Scarfe managed to remain one of their house cartoonists, despite clashing with their new ideology. On 5 April 2018, Scarfe sold part of his cartoon archive at Sotheby's.
Controversy
Scarfe's unflattering caricatures have always been controversial. In 1963, British Minister of Defense John Profumo, a member of Harold Macmillan's administration, was caught in a sex scandal with call girl Christine Keeler, who had connections with a KGB agent. Keeler was an attractive woman and became famous overnight, with photographer Lewis Morley snapping a famous picture of her sitting nude on a chair, turned back to front. For the cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye (5 April 1963), Scarfe spoofed this photo, with a caricature of MacMillan striking the same chair pose. It marked one of the first times since the 18th century that nudity had been portrayed in a British political caricature. Book wholesalers W.H. Smith's, Wymans', Boots' and Menzies refused to sell Private Eye that week, including a 1964 annual (Private Eye's Romantic England), which used the same image.
Apart from nudity, Scarfe broke even more taboos in the British press. On 28 July 1964, he was commisioned by the Sunday Times to draw a portrait of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who would give his final address to the House of Commons before leaving politics due to his advanced age. Scarfe was shocked to see "a shambling senile wreck of a man", which the media had carefully hidden from the public. He nevertheless drew what he saw, convinced that the paper would never publish it. They indeed didn't, but when Churchill passed away on 24 January 1965, Private Eye's editor Peter Cook asked Scarfe whether he had any drawings depicting the late Prime Minister. Once he saw the rejected sketch, he instantly put it on the front page of the next issue (5 February 1965). As expected, it caused instant scandal, not just because the war hero was so beloved and respected, but also since many felt it was "too soon". As always, it also made Scarfe's reputation grow, increasing the demand for his work.
In 1965, Scarfe made a cover drawing for Private Eye, depicting British Prime Minister Brian Wilson licking U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's exposed behind, with Johnson saying: "I've heard of the special relationship, but this is ridiculous." The editors forced him to censor the drawing, with Wilson only grabbing Johnson's pants. In 1966, Scarfe created another controversial cartoon, depicting Elizabeth II riding a horse. The horse - representing the U.K. - is tethered down by a long vine, grown all over its legs. Her saddle is the British flag, with the American Stars 'n' Stripes stitched over it. On her chest one can read the slogan "Britain for Sale", summarizing Scarfe's feelings about how the U.S.A. dominated the U.K. The cartoon led to countless angry letters, but also broke a half a century old taboo of depicting the British monarch in a critical light.
Although Scarfe published in The Daily Mail from October 1965 on, a widely syndicated paper where he received a considerable amount of creative freedom, his graphic style was so elaborate that it was difficult to get his illustrations done before deadline. While the editors were supportive of his work, many of their readers felt disgusted by Scarfe's caricatures. As the paper's circulation started to drop, he left them in February 1967. He continued at The New Statesman, but here he was held more on a proverbial leash. Chief editor Paul Johnson had too many friends among politicians and businesspeople, resulting in many of Scarfe's cartoons being rejected for potentially offending one of them. When Johnson claimed to observe male genitalia in a caricature of West-German politician Konrad Adenauer's face, Scarfe knew it was time to seek other horizons.
In 1966, Scarfe was commissioned to create a series of caricatural portraits for the U.S. magazine Encounter, depicting famous writers, poets, scientists, composers and visual artists. Some, like composer Aaron Copland, liked their portrait. But physicist Robert Oppenheimer, visual artist Mark Rothko and novelist Norman Mailer didn't. When the celebrities were asked to sign their name under their depictions, composer Igor Stravinsky didn't see the point, since he hadn't drawn it himself.
Caricature of PLO leader Yasser Arafat.
In The Sunday Times, chief editor Harold Evans once rejected a cartoon by Scarfe, depicting Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith resisting the independence of his country with a white minority rule over a black majority. Scarfe had drawn Smith panicking over a huge black-skinned erection. In the mid-1980s, Scarfe caricatured U.S. President Ronald Reagan in a Mickey Mouse outfit, brandishing a gun, while leaving Vietnam and parading to El Salvador. After seeing this cartoon, The Sunday Times' new owner, Rupert Murdoch, felt they had to "get ride of this pinko artist". Another time, Scarfe was personally confronted by Labour politician Denis Healey, who aggressively pointed at his own teeth and insisted that they "aren't as big as you draw them".
On 27 January 2013, Scarfe caricatured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, paving a wall with corpses of Palestinian civilians, while the banner read: "Israeli elections - will cementing peace continue?" The cartoon happened to be published on Holocaust Memorial Day, which caused controversy among certain Jewish organizations. Yet the decision to publish this cartoon on that date was taken by the editor of The Sunday Times, not Scarfe, and even he wasn't aware of the coincidental date. On his social media account, Murdoch wrote that "Gerald Scarfe has never reflected the opinions of the Sunday Times (...) we owe a major apology for a grotesque, offensive cartoon."
Even decades after being printed, Scarfe's cartoons occasionally still cause a stir. In 1972, a gallery in Newport refused to exhibit three of his drawings for being "obscene". Since he wasn't informed about this censorship, Scarfe went to the exhibition the next day and started taking all his drawings down with a screwdriver he bought a few hours ago at Woolworth's. In 2004, the National Gallery held an exhibition highlighting Scarfe's work, yet once again rejected two cartoons. One depicted Prince Charles (later Charles III) inside Camilla Parker Bowles' vagina, in reference to a real-life leaked private phone conversation with her, in which he wished he could be her tampon. The other drawing depicted the late Princess Diana being mounted by a pig, representing paparazzi, leaving it to the onlooker to decide whether she is raped by this swine, or actually enjoying the attention.
Only once Scarfe was sued over a cartoon. In 1970, the editors of the satirical magazine Oz were brought to court for "obscenity", after releasing a special issue, edited by teenagers, featuring a collage comic by Vivian Berger, which combined a Robert Crumb sex scene with Mary Tourtel's children's character Rupert Bear. One of the people in favor of the trial was, predictably, notorious censorship activist Mary Whitehouse, who afterwards had an audience with Pope Paul VI. Scarfe drew Whitehouse having sex with Rupert, with the description: "Mrs. Mary Righteous explains her position to the Pope." When Whitehouse saw the cartoon in Private Eye, she instantly sued, but the matter was settled out of court.
Another time Scarfe was actually saved by his talent. In the mid-1960s, he and priest Danilo Dulci were in Sicily to join a march against the Mafia. As they walked through the streets, the cartoonist was suddenly surrounded by a group of mobsters. In an instinctive reaction, Scarfe explained that he worked for a newspaper, grabbed pencil and paper and made a portrait of the gang leader. The mob boss felt so flattered that the tension dissolved and they could continue their walk without any further trouble.
Radio and TV work
In the second season of the British drama TV series 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' (1976-1979), the title character opens a shop called Grot, of which the logo was designed by Scarfe. The opening titles of the classic British sitcoms 'Yes Minister' (1980-1984) and 'Yes Prime Minister' (1986-1988) were animated by him too, featuring caricatures of the three main actors. In 2013, Scarfe became the host of the BBC Radio 4 show 'Recycled Radio', which reuses archive audio footage and edits it together in witty new combinations.
The iconic hammers from Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'.
Pink Floyd
The general public knows Scarfe best through his association with the British rock band Pink Floyd. His animated short 'A Long Drawn Out Trip' (1971) drew the attention of the group's members. The 18-minute cartoon featured surreal imagery, most of it poking fun at American symbols and icons. In one memorable sequence Mickey Mouse lights a joint and transforms into a stoned hippie. The soundtrack featured snippets from Jimi Hendrix and Neil Diamond. In 1973, Pink Floyd members Rogers Waters and David Gilmour happened to watch a TV broadcast of this cartoon late at night on the BBC and instantly decided to contact Scarfe. He drew a caricature for the comic book that came with the band's 1974-1975 tour (which also featured artwork by Richard Evans, Joe Petagno, Paul Stubbs, Colin Elgie and Dave Gale), and a series of animated shorts for their 1977 'In The Flesh' tour in support of their 'Animals' album, complete with a music video for their song 'Welcome to the Machine'.
Scarfe illustrated the inside cover of their 1979 album 'The Wall', and provided the animation segments for the 1980 stage show and 1982 cult film adaptation, 'Pink Floyd: The Wall'. These scenes, particularly the marching hammers, have become iconic. In 'The Simpsons' episode 'D'oh-in' in the Wind' (1998) by Matt Groening, Ned Flanders hallucinates under the influence of peyote and sees various rock logos marching across the street, among them the bears Melody and Verse, Rich Uncle Skeleton (The Grateful Dead), the marching hammers (Pink Floyd) and the lips-and-tongue logo (The Rolling Stones). Scarfe also provided artwork for Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' solo album 'The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking' (1984). In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, which prompted Waters to perform 'The Wall' live in Berlin in June 1990, with participation of Scarfe and a host of guest performers. For those interested in Scarfe's work for Pink Floyd, the book 'The Making of Pink Floyd: The Wall' (Da Capo Press, 2010) collects all of his artwork.
The members of Pink Floyd, as seen by Scarfe in 1974: Richard Wright, David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.
Hercules
In 1997, Scarfe worked as a conceptual artist on the Walt Disney animated feature 'Hercules'. The directors, Ron Clements and Jon Musker, were fans of his work and felt it resembled the artwork on ancient Greek vases. The artist made about 700 drawings which the Disney animators used as graphic inspiration, particularly notable in the characters Hades, Hydra and various demons and monsters. Critical reception was however mixed, since some viewers felt the Scarfesque look derived too far from the Disney trademark style, while fans of Scarfe felt it was watered down too much.
Graphic contributions
Gerald Scarfe designed the cover of Cathy Berberian's cover album 'Beatles Arias' (1967), under the pseudonym "Sir Ralph Godstrouser-Legge R.A.". He livened up the inside sleeve of Paul Jones' 'Love Me Love My Friends' (1967) and the cover of Alan Price's 'Shouts Across The Street' (1976). He also designed the covers of the classical music albums 'Laudate Dominum (Venetian Music By The Gabrielis and Bassano' (1978) by the Choir of Magdalen College Oxford and Dr. Bernard Rose, as well as Jacques Offenbach's 'Orpheus in the Underworld' (1987) by The English National Opera. He was also one of several cartoonists to make a contribution to 'Spitting Image: The Giant Komic Book' (Pyramid Book Ltd & Octopus Publishing Group, 1988), a comic book based on the satirical puppet TV show 'Spitting Image' by Peter Fluck and Roger Law.
Theater set designs and puppetry
Apart from drawing caricatures, Scarfe also worked with puppets. In 1966, he made giant puppets of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and British Prime Minister Brian Wilson for a CND rally in London. Some of these caricatural puppets were also used on the cover of Time, including a portrait of The Beatles for their 22 September 1967 issue. The puppet versions of the Fab Four were later donated to Madame Tussauds. In 1969, Scarfe also designed 12 metal figures for the World Exhibition in Osaka (1970).
Scarfe designed various opera sets, mostly for classic operas like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'The Magic Flute', Jacques Offenbach's 'Orpheus in the Underworld' and Pyotr Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker'. On a lighter note, he also designed sets for an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox'.
Recognition
In 1998, the Royal Mail brought out five commemorative postage stamps which honored five British comedians. Rather than go for a realistic depiction of these people, Scarfe designed five caricatures of Peter Cook, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Joyce Grenfell and Eric Morecambe. In 2003, the National Portrait Gallery and BBC Four held an exhibition, 'Heroes and Villains', for which Scarfe caricatured 30 famous people from British history. British Press Awards elected him as their 'Cartoonist of the Year' in 2006. On 14 June 2008, Scarfe was appointed CBE by Queen Elizabeth II. Archaeologists David M. Martill and Steve Etches discovered a fossil of a pterosaur in 2013 and named it "Cuspicephalus Scarfi", because its pointed beak reminded them of a typical Scarfe drawing.
Legacy and influence
Gerald Scarfe was an influence on Derek Bauer, Ann Telnaes and Zapiro.
Books about Gerald Scarfe
For those interested in Gerald Scarfe's life and career, the book 'Scarfe: Sixty Years of Being Rude' (Little, Brown Book Group, 2019) is a must-read.
Bill Clinton by Gerald Scarfe.