| Herblock | |
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 Block likely in the 1950s | |
| Born | Herbert Lawrence Block (1909-10-13)October 13, 1909 Chicago,Illinois, United States |
| Died | October 7, 2001(2001-10-07) (aged 91) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Herblock |
Notable works | Editorial cartoons |
Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known asHerblock (October 13, 1909 – October 7, 2001), was an Americaneditorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy.[1][2]
During the course of a career stretching into nine decades, he won threePulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning (1942,1954, and1979), shared a fourth Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for Public Service on Watergate, thePresidential Medal of Freedom (1994), theNational Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award in 1957 and 1960, theReuben Award in 1956, the Gold Key Award (the National Cartoonists Society Hall of Fame) in 1979, and numerous other honors.[3]
Block was the youngest of three boys born in Chicago to a Catholic mother, Theresa Lupe Block, and a father of Jewish descent, David Julian Block, a chemist and electrical engineer. His brother Rich became president of an industrial laundry and his brother Bill was a newspaper reporter for theChicago Tribune and later for theChicago Sun.
He began taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago when he was eleven, and adopted the "Herblock" signature in high school.
After graduating in 1927, he attendedLake Forest College for almost two years.
Late in his second year there he was hired—after submitting some cartoons he had done in high school and college for theEvanston News-Index—to replace theChicago Daily News' departing editorial cartoonist. He never returned to school.
Block moved to Cleveland in 1933 to become the staff cartoonist forNewspaper Enterprise Association, which distributed his cartoons nationally.
He won his firstPulitzer Prize in 1942, then spent two years in the Army doing cartoons and press releases.Upon discharge Block became chief editorial cartoonist forThe Washington Post, where he worked until his death 55 years later.[4]
Block's cartoons were syndicated to newspapers around the world byCreators Syndicate from 1987 until his death in 2001.[5]
He never married, and, in thePost's employee index, his address was listed as simply "The Washington Post".
His first cartoon for theChicago Daily News (April 24, 1929) advocated conservation of America's forests. Herblock said that his family was conservative and that his father voted forHerbert Hoover in 1928. But with the onset of the Great Depression, he became a supporter of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and theNew Deal. He pointed out the dangers ofSoviet aggression, the growing Nazi menace, and opposed Americanisolationists.[6]
While he criticized Stalin and other Communist figures, he also believed that the United States was overreacting to the danger of communism.
In the early 1950s, SenatorJoseph McCarthy was a recurring target of Herblock's cartoons, one of which introduced the termMcCarthyism.He won a second Pulitzer Prize in 1954.[7]The Washington Post officially endorsed Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.Because Herblock supported Adlai Stevenson, thePost pulled his cartoons, but restored them after a week. He always insisted on total editorial independence, regardless of whether or not his cartoons agreed with thePost's stance on political issues. He focused most of his attacks on those public figures in power, often on Republican figures, but Democrats who displeased him were not immune from criticism. As an example: despite being an ardent admirer of Franklin Roosevelt, he found it necessary to attack the president's 1937court-packing scheme.
During the 1950s, Herblock criticized Eisenhower mainly for insufficient action on civil rights and for not curbing the abuses of Senator McCarthy. In the following decade, he attacked theUS war effort in Vietnam, causing President Johnson to drop his plans of awarding the cartoonist with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. The cartoonist would eventually be awarded this honor by Bill Clinton in 1994.
Some of Herblock's finest cartoons were those attacking theNixon Administration during the Watergate Scandal, winning him his third Pulitzer Prize in 1979. Nixon canceled his subscription to thePost after Herblock drew him crawling out of an open sewer in 1954. He had once used the same motif for Senator McCarthy.[8]
Herblock also regularly drew Nixon in the McCarthy era with his infamous "five o'clock shadow" beard stubble; shortly after Nixon was elected President in 1968, he published a cartoon of a barbershop with an open chair and the sign "This establishment offers ONE FREE SHAVE to any new President. H. Block, Proprietor." Block never drew Nixon with stubble again.
He still ended up on the president's infamousenemies list. In the 1980s and 1990s, he satirized and criticized Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton in addition to taking on the issues of the day: Gun control; abortion; the influence of fundamentalist Christian groups on public policy; and the Dot Com bubble. The tobacco industry was a favorite target of Herblock, who had smoked at one time. He gave it up and had criticized cigarette companies even before that.
Stating that he never got tired of his work, Herblock continued as the 21st century began by lampooning newly elected president George W. Bush. He died on October 7, 2001, after a protracted bout of pneumonia six days short of what would have been his 92nd birthday. His final cartoon appeared inThe Washington Post on August 26.
Herblock won threePulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning (1942,1954,1979), shared a fourth Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for Public Service on Watergate, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1994), theNational Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award in 1957 and 1960, theReuben Award in 1956, and the Gold Key Award (the National Cartoonists Society Hall of Fame) in 1979. In 1986 he received theElijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honoraryDoctor of Laws degree fromColby College, and in 1999 an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Harvard University.
In 1961, he was chosen as one of 50 outstanding Americans of meritorious performance in the fields of endeavor, to be honored as a Guest of Honor to the first annual Banquet of the Golden Plate in Monterey, California. Honor was awarded by vote of the National Panel of Distinguished Americans of theAcademy of Achievement.[9]
In 1966, he was selected to design the U.S. postage stamp commemorating the 175th anniversary of theBill of Rights.
In 1987 he received theFour Freedoms Award for the Freedom of Speech.[10]
In 2008 Herblock's work was the subject of exhibitions entitledHerblock's Presidents at theSmithsonian Institution'sNational Portrait Gallery (United States),[11] andHerblock's History at theLibrary of Congress.[12] In late 2009 and early 2010, the Library of Congress showcased a new exhibition calledHerblock!.[13] This exhibition included cartoons that represented Block's ability to wield his pen effectively and artfully. He used it to condemn corruption and expose injustice, inequality, and immorality. His topics included the Great Depression; the rise of fascism and World War II; communism and the Cold War; Senator Joseph McCarthy; race relations; Richard Nixon; the Reagan era; the 2000 election and more.
When Herb Block died in October 2001, he left $50 million with instructions to create a foundation to support charitable and educational programs that help promote and sustain the causes he championed during his 72 years of cartooning. The Herb Block Foundation awarded its first grants and the annualHerblock Prize in editorial cartooning in 2004.[14] According to its website, the Herb Block Foundation "is committed to defending the basic freedoms guaranteed all Americans, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice and improving the conditions of the poor and underprivileged through the creation or support of charitable and educational programs with the same goals. The Foundation is also committed to improving educational opportunities to deserving students through post-secondary education scholarships and to promoting editorial cartooning through continuing research."[15]
On January 27, 2014,HBO premiered a documentary,Herblock: The Black & The White, which was executive produced byGeorge Stevens Jr., produced and directed by his son, Michael Stevens, who also co-wrote with Sara Lukinson. The documentary interviews Jon Stewart, Lewis Black,Tom Brokaw,Bob Woodward,Carl Bernstein,Jules Feiffer,Ted Koppel andBen Bradlee as witnesses to Block's life, work and indelible contribution to American satire.
| External videos | |
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 Booknotes interview with Herblock onA Cartoonist's Life, November 14, 1993,C-SPAN |
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (1922–1950) | ||
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Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (1951–1975) | ||
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Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (1976–2000) | ||
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