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Catalogue information
LastDodo number
6442753
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
Oh For The Life Of A Lifeguard?
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
37 x 32 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1971
Country
Language
Details
Original two-panel editorial cartoon in ink and crayon and craftint for Chicago Today, 1971, shows in the upper panel the ‘Dems’ donkey drowning in ‘Vietnam’, calling for help and the ‘GOP’ elephant lifeguard coming to the rescue, while in the lower panel the donkey is complaining: ‘what a lousy lifeguard!!’. During the presidency of the Democrat Lyndon Johnson the US became mired in the Vietnam War with seemingly no way out. The Republican candidate for the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon, pledged during his campaign to end the war in Vietnam, though without specifying exactly how. He also refrained from direct criticism of the administration’s handling of the war, although it appears that a few weeks before the election he was involved in a scheme to deliberately sabotage peace talks between North and South Vietnam which, had they taken place, would have increased support for his Democrat opponent Hubert Humphrey and tilted the balance in his favour. Once elected president, Nixon at first escalated US involvement in the war, and then introduced the policy of “Vietnamization” which was aimed at ending American involvement in the war by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. By 1971 however, little progress had been made in ending the war and the number of US military personnel in South Vietnam, although down from more than 500,000 three years earlier, still totalled 156,800. It would not be until January 1973 before a cease-fire was agreed and total withdrawal of US troops became a fact. Framed and matted for an overall size of 62 x 52 cm, image size 37 x 32 cm, signed and dated lower right, caption in ink in upper border. In excellent condition.