(Milwaukee, WI)  From March 6 - May 18, 2003, the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, will present Honoré Daumier: Political Caricaturist of the Nineteenth Century.  The exhibition will feature the Haggerty's collection of Daumier's Les Représentans Représentés (Representatives Represented) series 1848-1850, illustrations of political satire originally published in Le Charivari, La Silhouette, and La Caricature.  Other works in the exhibition include Au bal masqué (At the Masked Ball) a chalk drawing mocking bourgeois pretensions, and Devant líatre deux hommes en conversation (Two Men in Conversation before the Hearth)1856-60 from a New York-based private collection.  The Milwaukee Art Museum is lending lithographs from the Les Femmes Socialistes (Socialist Women) series published in Le Charivari June 4, 1849, and from the Actualités series 1859 and 1868.

Dr. Annemarie Sawkins, curator of the exhibition, will speak on "The World of Honoré Daumier" to open the exhibition March 6 at 6 pm, with a reception at the Haggerty Museum to follow.  The exhibition is partly sponsored by the Society for French Historical Studies who will meet and hold a reception at the museum Friday April 4 in conjunction with the exhibition.  The exhibition is also sponsored by the Stackner Family Foundation.

Daumier was born in Marseilles in 1808 and by 1822, he had decided on a career as an artist.  He received his first formal instruction from the painter Alexandre Lenoir.  Daumier produced his first lithographs in 1820, and later went to work in the shop of Zéphirin Belliard, a publisher of contemporary portraits.  In the early 1830s, he began to publish his works in new satirical publications that featured lithographic illustrations.

Daumier exposed the controversies of his day by lampooning politicians and highlighting the plight of the poor.  Between 1829 and 1872, Daumier produced approximately 4,000 lithographs.  The targets of his satiric caricatures included Charles X, the Church, and other public officials in weekly and daily publications such as La Silhouette, La Caricature, and Le Charivari.  Daumier's prints established the form and mission of the modern political cartoon.  These images were often too radical for the time.  Their publication led to the artistís imprisonment and the suppression of his works by the government.

Lithography was developed by J. Alöys Senefelder in 1802.  This invention altered the manner in which artists presented their work to the public.  Lithography allowed artists to draw one image and produce thousands of copies.  As weekly publications came into vogue, public demand for illustrated journalistic publications increased dramatically.  Public figures, authorities, and even Kings became subject matter for the weekly press.  With the increasing popularity of political caricature, the government of France enacted restrictions on the press prohibiting the political caricatures in 1835.

"Daumier's caricatures richly enlivened social and political discourse during his time" said Dr. Curtis L. Carter, director of the Haggerty Museum of Art.  "His work anticipates the role of the modern political cartoonist as a catalyst for generating discussion in our time."

The Haggerty Museum of Art is located at North 13th St. and West Clybourn Avenue on the campus of Marquette University. Museum hours are Monday - Wednesday, Friday - Saturday, 10 am-4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 am-8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.. Free parking is available in the Mary B. Finnigan Parking Lot (enter on 11th St. through Marquette Lot J). For more information on the exhibition or the Haggerty Museum, contact Jason Pilmaier at 414/288-3657.