Patrick Oliphant was a giant slayer. In addition to being a fearless stunt pilot, executing dangerous maneuvers just to blow off a little steam, he bravely took on presidents, popes and the American corporate class with his mighty pen. An Australian transplant, Oliphant was America’s most renowned and feared political cartoonist for five decades. With his biting wit and masterful drawing skills he attacked individual and institutional corruption, collusion, greed, hypocrisy and arrogance, no matter the size or status of his enemies. A Savage Art is the story of Oliphant’s life and celebrated career, told in interviews with Pat, his family, friends and colleagues, in archival footage, and featuring hundreds of his cartoons. A Savage Art also outlines the history of political cartoons, showing how important and impactful political cartoonists have been throughout the ages, and how, in our current climate of political partisanship and corporate control of the media, political cartoonists like Oliphant are critical to checking the powers that be.
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