A new volume of portraits by illustrator and caricaturist Drew Friedman has just been released. As the book cover indicates, All the Presidents contains thoughtful, telling portraits of each of America's forty-four presidents. (NB: There are forty-five presidencies because Grover Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th president.)
The book's publication is being celebrated tonight in Strand Bookstore's Rare Book Room. (The entrance is on Broadway at 12th Street.) Mr. Friedman will be there in conversation with comedian Robert Klein. The ticket price includes a copy of the book, and there will be a signing immediately following the conversation.
It has been extraordinarily rewarding to watch Drew Friedman develop his technique and extend his expressive range in recent years. This new book contains some of his most perceptive character studies, certainly among the best he has ever done. They reveal new insights with repeated viewings.
Just to quibble, a word or two might be in order here regarding party designation. Republicans, of course, are members of the Republican Party—no confusion there. Democrats, on the other hand, are members of the Democratic Party, not the "Democrat Party." "Democrat Party," in fact, is meant as a slur and it has been spoken so frequently by Republicans in recent decades that we hardly notice it anymore. So, while Barack Obama is indeed a proud Democrat, his party's proper name is still the Democratic Party.
The following extraordinary presidential portraits are new to the internet. These higher-resolution images have been graciously provided to Attempted Bloggery by the artist:
Drew Friedman's artistic process begins with a detailed preliminary pencil study:
While Drew Friedman's New Yorker cover makes no secret of his interest in presidential portraiture, it uses a more fanciful approach than we see in the contents of this book.
But wait, there's more! All the original artwork from All the Presidents will be exhibited at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at OSU along with over one-hundred of the artist's various presidential images from over the years, including the original Barack Obama inauguration New Yorker cover, above, and presidential ephemera from the artist's personal collection. The show opens on November 2 and will run through February 9, 2020. The official opening reception will be on Saturday the 16th of November when the artist will be giving a talk moderated by caricaturist and illustrator C. F. Payne.
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
Drew Friedman
Presidents
Kurt Andersen
Attempted Bloggery's Unimpeachable Index
03047
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| Drew Friedman All the Presidents (2019) |
The book goes by the numbers, beginning with George Washington. It's strange to see a president with no party affiliation. How long do you suppose that would last? The two-party system, remember, is not a part of our written Constitution.
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| Drew Friedman 1: George Washington |
It has been extraordinarily rewarding to watch Drew Friedman develop his technique and extend his expressive range in recent years. This new book contains some of his most perceptive character studies, certainly among the best he has ever done. They reveal new insights with repeated viewings.
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| Drew Friedman 26: Theodore Roosevelt |
Just to quibble, a word or two might be in order here regarding party designation. Republicans, of course, are members of the Republican Party—no confusion there. Democrats, on the other hand, are members of the Democratic Party, not the "Democrat Party." "Democrat Party," in fact, is meant as a slur and it has been spoken so frequently by Republicans in recent decades that we hardly notice it anymore. So, while Barack Obama is indeed a proud Democrat, his party's proper name is still the Democratic Party.
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| Drew Friedman 44: Barack Obama |
The following extraordinary presidential portraits are new to the internet. These higher-resolution images have been graciously provided to Attempted Bloggery by the artist:
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| Drew Friedman 6: John Quincy Adams
Image courtesy of the artist
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| Drew Friedman 16: Abraham Lincoln
Image courtesy of the artist
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| Drew Friedman 34: Dwight Eisenhower
Image courtesy of the artist
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| Drew Friedman 44: Barack Obama
Image courtesy of the artist
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| Drew Friedman Preliminary art 45: Donald Trump
Image courtesy of the artist
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After this he develops the finished portrait:
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| Drew Friedman 45: Donald Trump
Image courtesy of the artist
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While Drew Friedman's New Yorker cover makes no secret of his interest in presidential portraiture, it uses a more fanciful approach than we see in the contents of this book.
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| Drew Friedman The New Yorker, January 26, 2009 |
But wait, there's more! All the original artwork from All the Presidents will be exhibited at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at OSU along with over one-hundred of the artist's various presidential images from over the years, including the original Barack Obama inauguration New Yorker cover, above, and presidential ephemera from the artist's personal collection. The show opens on November 2 and will run through February 9, 2020. The official opening reception will be on Saturday the 16th of November when the artist will be giving a talk moderated by caricaturist and illustrator C. F. Payne.
Note: The October 3rd event at Strand is preserved on YouTube here:
Video added October 18, 2019
Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:
Drew Friedman
Presidents
Kurt Andersen
Attempted Bloggery's Unimpeachable Index
03047
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