Just as the written word and photographs document history, so too do caricatures and cartoons. The famous UK political caricaturist, cartoonist and satirist, Frederick Joss’ sketches are testimony to this.
Sixty-seven rare and original prints of Joss’ caricatures and sketches are on view at the Indian Cartoon Gallery. The exhibition takes you back to a time in history, few know of. Joss was born in 1908 in Vienna and moved to the UK in 1933. He worked, for over two decades, in a London newspaper The Star as a cartoonist and a current affairs caricaturist, and was sent to cover European political meetings and conferences, particularly in Geneva. He visited India and sketched caricatures of political figures as well as made sketches of common people. In 1942, he joined the Army and under the pseudonym Denim, he created The Star’s pocket-cartoon on war. During these times, he often drew under torch-light at night and under the cover of his sleeping bag.
Through bold and minimal strokes, Joss rendered a dignified air to every personality. The caricature of Nehru in particular catches your eye. It is a completely different depiction of India’s first prime minister. There are also caricatures of Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, former President of Pakistan Ayub Khan, former US President Herbert Hoover, Albert Einstein, Korea Senator General Bum Suk Lee, among others.
That Joss was well travelled is evident from his drawings of different cultures. Take his sketches of Indian society, for example. There are wonderful sketches of a woman from Uttar Pradesh and Indian dancing women. His attention to detailing shows how observant he was.
There are other sketches with light-hearted humour. For example, in one sketch, there is one woman telling another: “He’s tall, handsome and rich—but by one of fate’s strangest twists, I never met him.” Joss was accomplished in penning concise satirical text.
V.G. Narendra, Managing Trustee of Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC) speaks of how he came across Joss’ works.
“A year ago, I received a surprise email from Frederick Joss’ son-in-law, Vasant Shengde, who married Lisa, Joss’ daughter. Incidentally, Vasant is from Maharashtra, but settled in London. He told me he would send me some of Joss’ works. Fifteen days later, I received a big packet from Shengde. Around the same time, I visited London and Europe. Vasant invited me to his house. I spent the whole day with him. And he showed me all of Joss’ caricatures and cartoons and some of books and photographs he had collected, some of them were on Indian art and photography.”
Narrating a side story about Joss’ travel to India, Narendra says: “He met Abu Abraham, and commended him on his cartoons. On Joss’ suggestion, Abu came to London and worked at The Observer and The Guardian .” Joss died, at age 58, in 1967 under mysterious circumstances in Hong Kong.
Narendra received donations of Joss’ sketches from Vasant. “His works have enriched the archives of IIC,” he says. Among the other contributions from Joss’ collection, given by his family to IIC, are works, a pioneer of cartooning, William Hogarth. “The sketches are engravings on metal plates. We plan to have another exhibition of Hogarth’s works.” The exhibition is on till January 17, from 10 am to 6 pm, except Sundays, at Indian Cartoon Gallery number 1, Midford House, Midford Garden, off M.G. Road.
