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Christopher Terry Mosher, (born 11 November 1942) is a Canadian
political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...
for the ''
Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
''. He draws under the name Aislin, a rendition of the name of his eldest daughter Aislinn (without the second 'n'). Aislin's drawings have also appeared in numerous international publications, such as ''
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
'', ''
The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', '' Harper's'', '' National Lampoon'', ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', ''
The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and the Canadian edition of ''
The Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
''. According to his self-published website, as of 2020, he is the author of 51 books.


Life and career

Born in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario, Mosher attended fourteen different schools in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
, graduating from the
École des Beaux-arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
in 1967. He famously won entrance to this
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
s college (now part of UQAM) by forging his high-school graduation certificate, which he called his most successful work. During his summers as a student, Mosher started drawing cartoons, "portraits of American tourists" on the cobbled stone streets of Quebec City. After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts degree, rather than paint, Mosher decided to continue to draw and become a political cartoonist. He has admitted that he knew little about his chosen trade, and the lack of historical books about Canadian political cartooning made the transition a challenge. However, he adapted quickly, and in 1969, he was appointed official cartoonist of
The Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domina ...
, one of two Montreal English-language newspapers. He moved to the ''Montreal Gazette'' in 1972. Mosher began his career during a period of political change in Canadian and Quebec history. In 1967, Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
stepped down as leader of the
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
, and
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
assumed its leadership, becoming the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. In the fall of 1970, Montreal found itself in the middle of what is known as the
October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...
, in which the pro-sovereigntist group Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped and killed Pierre Laporte, a senior Quebec cabinet minister. The Federal Government, led by Pierre Trudeau, invoked the
War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
, thereby suspending civil rights and liberties. In 1976, the
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
, a sovereigntist party, was elected for the first time in Quebec history. These events gave Mosher "a phenomenal, sort of varied experience, to be drawing material on all of these different matters". Mosher published his first ever cartoon in September 1967, a drawing of Charles de Gaulle in the ''Saturday Night'' magazine. His first cartoon published in a newspaper (''The Montreal Star'') was on 10 December 1967. It was about a police raid of an African entertainment group that had been rumoured to have gone topless. Since December 1967, he has published over 13,000 editorial cartoons. A cartoon that Mosher himself describes as "probably the best remembered of any cartoon I’ve drawn" is one depicting the newly elected Premier of Quebec, René Lévesque, holding his customary cigarette, saying, “ O.K. Everybody Take a Valium!” reflecting the Anglophone community's angst towards their future in the province. The cartoon was drawn on the night when the pro-sovereigntist Parti Québecois won the 1976 election. Mosher's cartoons have evolved over time and, with the evolution of the internet, he has been concentrating on the appearance of drawings in the virtual format rather than print: "I draw cartoons now, not how it will look in the newspaper, but how it will look on the screen". Mosher has partnerships not only with newspapers but with a board game and bookstore as well. Mosher famously turned down shares in the board game
Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question t ...
for which he provided the original artwork. The co-inventor,
Chris Haney Christopher Deane Haney (born November 19, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1991–2000 and in 2002 for the Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Re ...
, gave Mosher a choice: $1,000 or shares. Mosher took the cash. He also provided a cartoon for the logo of a Montreal bookstore, Paragraphe Bookstore. Mosher and fellow Montreal cartoonist
Serge Chapleau Serge Chapleau (; born December 5, 1945) is a Canadian political cartoonist from the province of Quebec. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, the youngest in a family of seven children, Serge Chapleau grew up in a blue collar neighbourhood in Mon ...
were the subject of a 2003 documentary film, ''Nothing Sacred'', directed by Garry Beitel.


Exhibitions

In 1997, Mosher's work was presented in the McCord Museum of Montreal alongside fellow cartoonist Serge Chapleau's work.''The Cartoon Calamities!'' a 2012 exhibition covering 150 years of current events through the drawings of Quebec cartoonists including Aislin. In 2017, the McCord Museum presented another exhibition, ''Aislin: 50 Years of Cartoons'', celebrating 50 of Mosher's best political cartoons spanning 50 years from 1967 to 2017. The exhibition was not only a showcase of his work, but also an introduction to Montreal, Quebec, and Canadian political history. The exhibition was divided into five main themes: A Changing Society, which showcased a Leonard Cohen cartoon; Quebec and Canadian Politics, which concentrated on political events such as the election of the Parti Québecois, and the Quebec referendums on sovereignty; Montreal Mayors, focusing on Jean Drapeau and 1976 Montreal Olympics; First Ministers, detailing political leaders such as Pierre Trudeau, Réné Levesque, Brian Mulroney and Justin Trudeau; and finally, Montreal Life, showcasing cartoons reflecting Montreal's joie de vivre. In late 2017, Mosher had another exhibition at the Ottawa City Hall Art Gallery where his cartoons were presented. The exhibition was titled ''Terry Mosher- From Trudeau to Trudeau: Fifty Years of Aislin Cartoons''.


Personal life and philanthropy

Mosher has two daughters, Aislinn and Jessica, who are both
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
graduates. Mosher's love for baseball led him to be part of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Mosher has had a long association with the
Old Brewery Mission The Old Brewery Mission is a resource for homeless men and women in Quebec, Canada. History The Old Brewery was founded in 1889 by two women, Mina Douglas and Eva Findlay, who started serving hot meals to Montrealers in need. In the early 20th c ...
, Montreal's largest shelter for the
homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...
, and in 2001, was appointed to the institution's board of directors.


Honours and awards

Mosher is the recipient of two
National Newspaper Awards The National Newspaper Awards (french: link=no, Concours canadien de journalisme) are prizes awarded annually for the best work in Canadian newspapers. Synopsis The awards were first given in 1949 by the Toronto Press Club, which ran the awards un ...
and five individual prizes from the international Salon of Caricature. He was awarded President Emeritus by the Association of Canadian Cartoonists. In 1985, Mosher became the youngest person ever to be inducted into the
Canadian News Hall of Fame Founded by the Toronto Press Club (now known as the Toronto Press and Media Club) in 1965, the Canadian News Hall of Fame honours more than 100 men and women who have made significant contributions to journalism in Canada. Nominations for inductio ...
. In 2002, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...
. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. In 2012, he was inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist's Hall of Fame (aka The Giants of the North) in a ceremony in Toronto as part of the 8th Annual Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning. He received the Canadian Version of the
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
in 2002. and the Canadian Version of the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
in 2012. In June 2018, Mosher was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
.


Controversy

In 1993, MP Robert Layton denounced Aislan's cartoon depicting outgoing Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
lying face down in the snow after having been tripped by a whistling
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...
as "a crime against fundamental Canadian values of decency and mutual respect", making him the first political cartoonist censured in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. On 12 March 2010, Mosher drew a cartoon depicting a woman in a niqab with prison bars and a lock in place of her eyes. The cartoon was drawn in reference to a Montreal Muslim woman who refused to remove her niqab upon entering a French-language school and was asked to leave. Salem Elmenyawi, the president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, pointed out that he had made similar cartoons about women wearing a
hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
. Elmenyawi explained that the cartoon creates an inaccurate depiction of women who wear niqabs by "not respecting the fact they tried to be true to the faith the way they understood it and the way they think it's right." Mosher defended his cartoon indicating that it is necessary to have more than just one view represented. On 8 April 2020, Mosher posted a cartoon of Donald Trump with a swastika as his coat of arms. As a result of the extreme backlash towards the cartoon, the Montreal Gazette published a modified version of the cartoon without the swastika included in the emblem.


References


External links

*
See Aislin's caricatures
from the McCord Museum's digital collection


Terry Mosher
at
The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosher, Terry 1942 births Living people Canadian editorial cartoonists Canadian humanitarians Officers of the Order of Canada Artists from Montreal Artists from Ottawa Anglophone Quebec people Montreal Gazette people