25 November 2004 – 20 February 2005

Free to the public

This Exhibition chronicles the life of Sidney ‘George’ Strube who was the editorial cartoonist of the Daily Express between 1912 and 1948. During these years, he assisted in no small way to making the Daily Express the best selling national newspaper in the world. In 1915, Strube enlisted in the Artists Rifles Battalion and served on the Western Front alongside other artists and writers such as Paul Nash and Wilfred Owen. Strube’s greatest creation was the ‘Little Man’, which represented the man in the street, a figure of whom large sections of the population then identified with. During the 1930s, Strube’s ridiculing of Hitler and Mussolini often led to the Daily Express being banned in Germany and Italy. Strube’s name, alongside many other prominent critics of Hitler’s regime, was discovered on a Nazi hit list after the war. The Exhibition includes 60 original Strube cartoons as well as his original drawing board.

What they have said of Strube:

Winston Churchill: “In my opinion Strube is one of the greatest cartoonists the newspapers have had in this country for many, many years.”

Stanley Baldwin: “Strube is a gentle genius, I don’t mind his attacks because he never hits below the belt.”

Lord Beaverbrook: “I think Strube has a greater influence in public life than anybody.”

Field Marshall Lord Kitchener: “Strube is a genius! And in this time of stress and sorrow his sense of humour and power of conveying it are invaluable.”

The exhibition also coincides with the first biography of Sidney Strube published by the Political Cartoon Society.

The Political Cartoon Gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11am – 5.30pm. Phone Dr Tim Benson on 020 7580 1114 for further details or email him at info@politicalcartoon.co.uk