Results: The History of News and Communication * Part Twelve * Caricature: the Art of Exaggeration is derived from the Italian words "caricare" and "carico" which mean "to exaggerate" or "to load".

One might wonder, why it took such a long time for caricatures to be considered a recognized art form. During the period of High Renaissance, artists focused on illustrations to a greater degree. James Gillray is stilled considered one of the best caricaturists of his time. Were you aware of James Gillray before this survey?

Honoré Daumier was famous in his time as France's best-known caricaturist. He made his first experiments in lithography in 1822, aged fourteen. By 1825, he had found employment with a commercial printer in whose shop he gained the technical skills he needed. Daumier in 1831 was engaged by a great publicist, Charles Philipon, as cartoonist for a newly founded journal of political satire, La Caricature. During his career of forty years as comic artist to the weekly press, during which he drew 3,958 lithographs. The initial target of his attacks was the government of King Louis-Philippe, which he ridiculed with a corrosive wit that brought him to the notice of the press police and earned him a jail term of six months in 1832. When a tightening of censorship in 1835 put an end to La Caricature, Daumier shifted to politically unobjectionable social satire for Philipon's other journal, Le Cbarivari. In hundreds of lithographs, published serially, two or three a week. He left a highly regarded body of work people enjoy today. Were you aware of Daumier prior to the survey?

Born in London to Isaac and Mary (MacNaughton) Cruikshank, George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was indoctrinated into the world of art at a young age. Isaac Cruikshank had established himself as one of London's leading political caricaturists in the 1790s. After attending elementary school for a brief period, George became his father's apprentice and studio assistant where he could "play at etching on some of his copperplates." As a boy, George would etch bits of shadow or add background figures to his father's work, and as he grew older his father would assist him with parts of his own etchings. Aside from these lessons in his father's studio, his education and inspiration came primarily from the streets of London rather than a classroom. He was able to observe people of all social classes within his own neighborhood, a practice which served him well in his career as a caricaturist. Were you aware of George Cruikshank prior to the survey?

You can explore the fascinating and thought-provoking world of caricature and satire in its many forms from the Italian Renaissance to the present. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has held exhibitions of these works. It is available in book form entitled: Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine. It contains 165 famous images. Have you heard about this book or the Met's Exhibitions prior to this survey?

Thomas Nast arrived in New York as a boy of six. He studied art at the National Academy of Design and at the age of 15 became a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and at 18 for Harper's Weekly. In 1860 he went to England for the New York Illustrated News and in the same year went to Italy to cover Giuseppe Garibaldi's revolt for The Illustrated London News and American publications. Nast did some painting in oil and book illustrations, but his fame rests on his caricatures and political cartoons. From his pen came the Republican Party's elephant, Tammany Hall's tiger, and one of the most popular images of Santa Claus. He also popularized the Democratic Party's donkey. Were you aware of Thomas Nast prior to this survey?

It is hard to believe but influencers date back all the way back to the eighteenth century. In the year 1760, the concept of influencers began. A potter named Josiah Wedgwood created a tea set for Queen Charlotte and publicized himself as the "Potter of her Majesty." This title and the royal family's stamp of approval deemed his brand as a staple and is called the "father of modern marketing". Part Thirteen will explore early media Influencers. Were you aware that influencers existed in the 1760s?