I was at a thrift store in Stockholm the other day and stumbled upon an old book by EWK. I started to leaf through it and was immediately struck by how fresh and strong his illustrations came out after so many years. I was born and raised with EWK and his political cartoons of the worlds greatest, or most infamous leaders, mostly during the sixties and seventies. I guess I was so used to having him around that I never really paid much attention. But his linework is outstanding: Bold, yet sensitive, very audacious and headstrong, with a great eye for caricature, every time pinpointing the very core of his political targets. Most of these once so famous world leaders are gone today, but the impact remains. I was surprised to discover his critical cartoons on pollution and environmental destruction: They are still very relevant today.
Political Caricatures
moamar khadafi
Ayatollah Khomeini
Kim il Sung
Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe
Mao Tse Dong
Margaret Thatcher
Biography:
EWK – Born on nov 6, deceased on jan 5, 2004
Ewert Karlsson was a Swedish artist and cartoonist working under the pseudonym EWK. He was born in 1918 in Mogata, Sweden. Originally from an agricultural background, he decided to persue his artistic dreams in his thirties, when he moved to Stockholm and started to make a name as a political cartoonist. He worked for various Swedish newspapers such as Stockholmstidningen, Aftonbladet and Land. He also contributed to international newspapers like The New York Times, and won several prestigious Political Cartoonist of the Year Awards and gold medals at The International Salon of Cartoon in Montreal in 1967 and 1977.
EWK in his studio
Some books by EWK:
