National Press Foundation Honors Nancy Ohanian

Three weeks ago, Nancy Ohanian was awarded the National Press Foundations' Clifford K. & James T. Berryman Award for Editorial Cartoons. If you've been reading DWT before today, you're already familiar with her incredible work. When the judges announced she was going to get this year's award they explained that her "work is a masterful exercise in composition. Her powerful images exhibit a high degree of technical skill, creating unforgettable visual satire." Please watch her explaining some of her drawings to the audience of journalists.

It was Skip Kaltenheuser who first introduced us to Nancy Ohanian and her work. He is a member of the National Press Club and told me this morning that "We’re lucky when we cross paths with an artist’s sensibility that throws light on the confounding parts of our world. Click to enlarge an image at Nancy’s site, and then click through the political collection. Look closely for the details slipped in. Watch how Nancy's brushes lift the veils concealing deception and hypocrisy, while favoring the lucky few. It’s the art of around-the-corner correlations, providing insight. Even better, a laugh at our interesting times. Beyond Nancy’s startling speed, what’s triply impressive is that her images shoulder the full burden. A simple title, but no punchlines, no dialogue. Just the image and how the viewer connects. My favorite changes every time I look, and I wish I had such skills and the imagination to match."

On the same day of the National Press Foundation awards banquet, Ted Lieu awarded Nancy a Congressional Certificate of Recognition for work going all the way back to when she was the chief editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. "Nancy Ohanian is a national treasure," said Congressman Lieu. "Her art is powerful, moving and informative. Satire and humor can reveal truth in a way that other forms of communication cannot. And Nancy is one of the masters at it."