Thursday, January 10, 2008

National Archives press release on exhibit and panel discussion

NATIONAL ARCHIVES PRESENTS POLITICAL CARTOONISTS PANEL DISCUSSION AND A FILM SCREENING FOR OPENING OF NEW EXHIBIT “RUNNING FOR OFFICE”

Washington, DC. . . On Thursday, February 7, at 7 p.m. the National Archives presents a group of Pulitzer Prize–winning political cartoonists, including Pat Oliphant, in a special panel discussion celebrating the opening of the new exhibition “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman.” Also in conjunction with the opening, the National Archives will offer a screening of The Great McGinty on Saturday, February 16, at noon.

The exhibition opens in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. on Friday, February 8 and runs through August 17, 2008. Winter hours (through March 14) are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Spring hours (March 15 through Labor Day) are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily.

The “Running for Office” exhibition includes 41 exceptional pen-and-ink drawings that highlight timeless aspects of the American campaign and election process. Clifford K. Berryman, staff political cartoonist for The Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star during the first half of the 20th century, drew thousands of cartoons commenting on Presidential and congressional candidates, campaign issues, and elections of his era. The cartoons are part of the official Records of the U.S. Senate housed in the National Archives Center for Legislative Archives.

The programs are free and open to the public. For information on National Archives Public Programs, call 202-357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online at: www.archives.gov. The William G. McGowan Theater is located in the National Archives Building on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW, Washington, DC. Use the National Archives Building Special Events entrance on the corner of 7th Street and Constitution Avenue.

Running for Office: Cartooning and Politics
Thursday, February 7, at 7 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater
Award-winning editorial cartoons are often characterized by their originality, editorial effectiveness, and quality of drawing and dramatize a wide range of social and political issues with style and humor. Join moderator Stephen Hess, Distinguished Research Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University and co-author of Drawn & Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons, as he welcomes four Pulitzer Prize–winning political cartoonists: Pat Oliphant, the most widely syndicated political cartoonist in the world; Ann Telnaes, freelance editorial cartoonist with CartoonArts International/NY Times Syndicate and Women’s eNews; Matt Davies, editorial cartoonist for the Journal News, Westchester, NY, syndicated internationally in more than 80 newspapers by Tribune Media Services; and Clay Bennett, editorial cartoonist with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The panelists will discuss their work, what inspires and motivates political cartoons, and the effect of these cartoons on the political community and the public.

Running for Office Film Series—The Great McGinty
Saturday, February 16, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
Writer-director Preston Sturges’s first film tells of the rise and fall of Dan McGinty, which begins when he endears himself to the political machine by voting 37 times in a single election and ends with him working as a bartender in a banana republic. In between, he is pushed by a ruthless political boss into the governor’s chair as the stooge to end all stooges. The film stars Brian Donlevy and won an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay. (1940, 82 minutes)

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