Renowned Political Cartoonist Pat Oliphant Passes Away at 90
For five decades, Pat Oliphant’s incisive political cartoons were a staple in newspapers across America, making both politicians and readers pause. The celebrated cartoonist, whose works are preserved in the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, passed away on Monday at the age of 90.
Throughout his illustrious career, Oliphant visited the University of Virginia numerous times, engaging with the Miller Center of Public Affairs. In a significant contribution to the arts, Oliphant donated an extensive archive to the Small Special Collections Library in 2018, featuring over 6,000 pen-and-ink cartoons, along with original notebooks, sculptures, and paintings. His work was highlighted in a major exhibition at the library during the 2019-2020 academic year.
“Pat Oliphant was Alexander Pope with a paintbrush, a master of the mock heroic, piercing pomposity with a few swift strokes,” remarked Ken Hughes, a research specialist at the Miller Center and author of two books on Richard Nixon.
Oliphant’s sharp wit spared no political figure, targeting presidents from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump. A signature feature of his cartoons was a small penguin named Punk, who often added his own commentary in the corner of the drawings.
Among the many figures Oliphant depicted, Nixon was a frequent subject. Hughes noted, “He captured the fraudulence of Nixon’s ‘peace with honor’ in Vietnam by portraying him as a magician who couldn’t pull a dove out of a hat, finding nothing but a bomb-wielding bird of prey. Oliphant’s Watergate cartoons captured Nixon’s menace and bathos, his yearning for greatness undone by his lack of goodness.”
In a 2009 discussion at the Miller Center, Oliphant reflected on his portrayal of former U.S. Senator Robert Dole, stating, “For a long time, I was drawing Bob Dole as Dracula. He was billed as a man with no sense of humor and humorless, but as a matter of fact, he had a great sense of humor, a very funny man. I regret drawing him like that. Well, there’s not much regret.”
During a 2018 visit, Oliphant foresaw the decline of traditional newspapers, predicting the rise of the internet as a primary news source. “Newspapers used to be the center of all sorts of things,” Oliphant said. “In my life – in most people’s lives – newspapers were what you read to know what was going on. The internet has probably changed everybody’s life.”
Hughes lamented Oliphant’s passing, acknowledging the diminishing influence of editorial cartoons. “The pompous pursuers of unaccountable power will sleep easier now that Oliphant’s pen lies still,” he said.
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