Kevin Kallaugher (born March 23, 1955 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a

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 curre ...

for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' and the '' Baltimore Sun''. He cartoons using the pen name, KAL.

Editorial cartoon career

Kallaugher attended

Fairfield College Preparatory School Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 700 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1 ...

and graduated in 1973. Kallaugher graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

with honors in visual and environmental studies in 1977. After that, he undertook a cycling tour of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, joining the

Brighton Bears Brighton Bears was a British basketball team based in Brighton, Sussex. From 1984 to 1999 the club was known as the Worthing Bears and was based in the town of Worthing, 12 miles west of Brighton. The Bears played in the top-flight British Ba ...

Basketball Club as a player and coach. When the club ran into financial trouble, Kallaugher began drawing caricatures of tourists on

Brighton Pier The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old Steine. Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be const ...

and in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. In 1978 Kallaugher became the first resident cartoonist in the then 135-year history of

. He spent the following 10 years in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

working for such publications as ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' and ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

''. A picture of Indira Gandhi by Kal was considered offensive by

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n authorities in 1984, leading to the destruction of the printed editions of the newspaper in the country. Kallaugher returned to the U.S. in 1988, becoming the editorial cartoonist for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

''. Over the course of his 17 years at the newspaper up to 2006, he drew more than 4000 cartoons for ''The Sun'' while also drawing two cartoons per week for ''The Economist''. Kallaugher's work for ''The Economist'' includes over 120 illustrated covers. He left ''The Sun'' in 2006, but returned in 2012. In 1995, Kallaugher was invited by the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

to help curate the celebrated exhibition "Worth a Thousand Words: A Picture of Contemporary Political Satire". In 2006, the Walters mounted a major retrospective exhibition of Kallaugher's cartoons titled "Mightier than The Sword; The Satirical Pen of KAL". Kallaugher's work has also been exhibited at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London and the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He has had one-man exhibitions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Washington, D.C., and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Syndication

KAL's work for ''The Sun'' and ''The Economist'' has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide, including ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', '' Der Spiegel'', ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

'', ''

Krokodil ''Krokodil'' ( rus, Крокодил, p=krəkɐˈdʲil, a= Ru-крокодил.ogg, ) was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1922 as the satirical supplement to the '' Workers' Gazette'' (called simply «При� ...

'', ''

Daily Yomiuri The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four ...

'', ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', ''

The International Herald Tribune ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

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 d ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

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, ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' and '' U.S. News & World Report''. His cartoons are distributed worldwide by Cartoonarts International and the ''New York Times'' Syndicate.

Awards and honors

Kallaugher has won many awards for his work; most recently, the 2015 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning. In 2005, he received the Nast Prize as presented by the town of

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...

, Germany. In 2004 he won the Gillray Goblet for Cartoon of the Year as presented by the Political Cartoon Society of Great Britain. In 1999, 2002 and 2005 he won the

Thomas Nast Award Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and t ...

, presented by the

Overseas Press Club of America The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain a ...

, and in 2002 he was awarded the

Berryman Award The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit journalism training organization. It educates journalists on complex issues and trains them in reporting tools and techniques. It recognizes and encourages excellence in journalism through its awards. ...

, presented by the

National Press Foundation The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit journalism training organization. It educates journalists on complex issues and trains them in reporting tools and techniques. It recognizes and encourages excellence in journalism through its awards. ...

. In 1996 he won the Grafica Internazionale Award at the International Festival of Satire in Pisa, Italy. In 1990 he was awarded the award for Best Editorial Cartoon at the Witty World International Cartoon Festival in Budapest, Hungary and the 1982 Feature Cartoonist of the Year Award as presented by the Cartoonist Club of Great Britain. In 1999, ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons'' said of him: "Commanding a masterful style, Kallaugher stands among the premier caricaturists of the (twentieth) century." Kallaugher is past President of the

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) is a professional association concerned with promoting the interests of staff, freelance and student editorial cartoonists in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With nearly 200 members, it ...

and Cartoons Rights Network, an international human rights organization dedicate to the plight of cartoonists at risk.

Books

Kallaugher published a collection of his Economist drawings entitled ''Drawn from The Economist'' (1988) and four collections of his Baltimore Sun cartoons entitled ''KALtoons'' (1992), ''KAL Draws a Crowd'' (1996), ''KAL Draws the Line'' (2000) and ''KAL Draws Criticism'' (2006). A new collection, ''Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of KAL Cartoons in The Economist,'' was published in 2013. In February 2010 KAL launched his first iPhone app, based on his most recent cartoon collection ''KAL Draws Criticism'', with an additional bonus section.

Animation

As part of his senior thesis at Harvard, Kallaugher completed a 13-minute animated film "In The Days of Disgustus" which featured characters from his weekly cartoon strip by the same name that ran in ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

''. In 1986, Kallaugher worked with the animator Richard Williams to produce "No Bias", an award-winning 30 second television commercial for the Today newspaper in Great Britain. In 2004 Kallaugher teamed up with animator Gary Leib at Twinkle studio to create flash animation video for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's Nightline and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Lou Dobbs Tonight ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' was an American political and financial talk program that was hosted by Lou Dobbs. The program initially aired on CNN from its launch under the title ''Moneyline'', as its main financial news program. The program later shif ...

. In 2006, Kallaugher was named Artist-in-Residence at the Imaging Research Center at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

. With the IRC, Kallaugher has pioneered the development of 3D digital caricatures that can be animated in Real-time. His first character, The Digital Dubya, made its world premier at a live press conference at the

in June 2006. The World Wide Web premier of his digital animation was in March 2007 when

commissioned a web video to coincide with the launch of a gallery of KAL's cartoons on the magazine's website. Kallaugher launched a Maryland-based animation company, Kaltoons LLC, in 2007. Kaltoons first video, ''Dancin' Dubya'' was released online in August 2007.

References

External links

Official website of Kevin Kallaugher

Selection of animations by KAL

The Economist KAL's gallery since 2006

Best of KAL
The Economist, Apr 4th 2008
Video: KAL discusses these drawings and his career at The Economist

Interview of KAL by The Economist on YouTube 18 Feb 2022

The Official Page of the iKal Book iPhone app
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kallaugher, Kevin American editorial cartoonists The Economist people 1955 births Living people Harvard College alumni People from Norwalk, Connecticut Artists from Connecticut Fairfield College Preparatory School alumni