For Immediate Release:
WASHINGTON, DC, Monday, March 02, 2015 – Kevin Kallaugher (KAL) has been named the winner of the 2015 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning.
KAL's work for The Sun and The Economist has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide, including The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, Le Monde and Der Spiegel. His cartoons are distributed worldwide by Cartoonarts International and the New York Times Syndicate.
In a distinguished career that spans more than 36 years, KAL has created over 8,000 cartoons and 140 magazine covers. His work includes acclaimed animations, six collections of his published work, seven international honors and awards, and exhibitions in a dozen countries. Awards he has won include the 2014 Grand Prix for Cartoon of the Year in Europe as presented by Press Cartoon Europe, the 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2014 Thomas Nast Award presented by the Overseas Press Club of America, and the 2002 Berryman award presented by the National Press Foundation.
The Herblock Prize is awarded annually by The Herb Block Foundation for “distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous independent standard set by Herblock.” The winner receives a $15,000 after-tax cash prize and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy. KAL will receive the Prize on May 7th in a ceremony held at the Library of Congress. Don Graham, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company), will deliver the annual Herblock Lecture at the awards ceremony.
Judges for this year’s contest were Jen Sorensen, nationally-published political cartoonist and winner of the 2014 Herblock Prize; Sara W. Duke, curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art at the Library of Congress; and Michael Rhode, archivist and author, commentator on comics for the Washington City Paper and creator of the ComicsDC blog.
The judges said they “were unanimous in their decision to nominate Kevin Kallaugher, better known to the world as Kal, for the 2015 Herblock Prize. Kal draws cartoons for both the UK-based Economist magazine and the Sunday Baltimore Sun newspaper. His portfolio reflected his dual editorial cartoonist roles, and impressed the judges with his ability to jump between macro international policy issues to Baltimore mayor's stonewalling about the accuracy of its speed cameras. Like Herblock, KAL is a committed defender of civil liberties. His full-page cartoon on Edward Snowden is a minor masterpiece. His artwork, still traditional ink on paper, remains strong in his fourth decade of cartooning. He is a master of caricature. Whether single panel, circular, or multi-panel, his cartoons are clear, thoughtful, forceful and in the best tradition of Herblock.”
Mike Luckovich, the editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was named this year’s finalist and will receive a $5,000 after-tax cash prize. The judges said “His sharp and witty cartoons on Ferguson, Missouri as well as torture, the Koch brothers, and legal attacks on the Affordable Care Act, stood out.”
The Herb Block Foundation seeks to further the recognition and support of editorial cartooning: www.HerblockFoundation.org.
Herb Block is among the world’s best known and most admired political cartoonists. Born on October 13, 1909, the native Chicagoan spent his 72-year career fighting against abuses of the powerful.