Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman

“Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman,” an exhibition created by the National Archives with the support of the Foundation for the National Archives and organized for travel by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities is now on display at the Louisiana Old State Capitol.

“Running for Office” displays the creative, insightful and satirical political cartoons of Clifford Berryman, the Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star
during the first half of the 20th century. Berryman became a Washington Institution and one of the most celebrated and respected political cartoonists of his time. Today, his pen-and-ink drawings are housed by the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, serving as official records of the U.S. Senate.

The facsimile cartoons presented in the exhibition highlight the trail to the White House in a timeless and entertaining way. Berryman’s historical illustrations transcend decades to comment on the present campaign process, from the initial decision to run to the final election results. The exhibition is designed to emphasize the enduring significance of Berryman’s drawings to American political history.

The Advocate’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, Walt Handelsman will present the opening lecture to this exhibit at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 26. Handelsman will showcase his work, describe the process of coming up with daily cartoons on deadline and talk about the challenges of creating satirical editorial cartoons during a time of great national division and a global pandemic.

The exhibition will be available to the public from May 1 to July 3.

Humanities Texas develops and supports diverse programs across the state, including lecture, oral history projects, teacher institutes, museum exhibitions and documentary films. For more information, please visit Humanities Texas online at http://www.humanitiestexas.org or call 512.440.1991.