Private Eye was launched in 1961 and has been controversial from the start. Cartoon by Gerald Scarfe. Courtesy The Cartoon Museum
The 45th anniversary of one of Britain’s best-loved satirical magazines is being celebrated with a new exhibition at London’s Cartoon Museum.
Private Eye has lampooned the major figures of the day since its launch in 1961 and cartoons have always been central to its appeal. The Private Eye At 45 exhibition runs until February 11 2007 and features some 110 cartoons from more than 50 cartoonists selected from its pages.
2006 also marks 20 years since Ian Hislop, well known for appearing on TV’s Have I Got News For You, took over as editor of the magazine. Hislop regards selecting the cartoons as one of his favourite editorial jobs and observes:
“Cartoonists all believe that no-one reads any of the articles in Private Eye and that the only reason anyone buys it is so that they can look at the cartoons.”
Current editor Ian Hislop selects the cartoons for Private Eye himself. Courtesy The Cartoon Museum
As well as containing works from the magazine by some of the best-known cartoonists around like Ronald Searle, Ralph Steadman, Carl Giles, Fluck and Law and Steve Bell it also includes specially commissioned cartoons by Michael Heath and Nick Newman and unpublished works by Gerald Scarfe and George Adamson.
Historic covers and cartoons relating to some of Private Eye’s most notorious libel cases are on show. The cartoon about Winston Churchill GDE (Greatest Dying Englishman) provoked the statesman’s son Randolph to bring the first libel case against the paper in 1963 forcing a withdrawal in the Evening Standard.
Private Eye was the creation of a small group including Richard Ingrams, Peter Usborne, Willie Rushton and Christopher Booker and the first few issues were carefully cut and pasted together in Rushton’s bedroom in Kensington. From an initial print run in the hundreds readership has grown to more than 200,000.
The Cartoon Museum opened in February 2006 and exhibits the best examples of British cartoons, caricature and comic art from the 18th century to the present day.
