About the Exhibition
Picturing Politics: Cartoons, Caricature, and Propaganda takes a critical look at the vision of Canadian history and identity crafted by early 20th century editorial cartoons. Centered around the work of Newton McConnell, an editorial cartoonist who worked for the Toronto Star in the early 20th century, Picturing Politics contextualizes McConnell’s work for contemporary audiences. Over a hundred years have passed since these cartoons were published in Canadian papers. Yet, they offer a fruitful entry point to discussing early 20th century Canada and highlight the importance of critically examining images we encounter in the media today.
The exhibit was developed by a team of Master of Museum Studies students in the final year of their program at the University of Toronto.
The exhibit would not be possible without the support and guidance of the Archives of Ontario. Many of the source materials and ideas for the exhibition come from the Archives of Ontario’s Newton McConnell fonds, which are available to view on the Archives of Ontario Visual Database. Additional support and archival materials come from Toronto Public Library and the Digital Archive.
Finally, Picturing Politics was realized with support and funds from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
Exhibit Development Team
Brooke Downey
Sophia Germond
Bronwyn Graham
Octavian Ion
Zoe (Zihan) Xu
Image Disclaimer
Some of the images you see in this exhibit have been edited for decorative and illustrative purposes. Where an original image is displayed, the full citation has been provided. Many of the edited images are also featured in their original format in the exhibition. Decorative artworks are illustrations created only for this website.
If you have further questions or comments on this, feel free to contact us at info@picturingpolitics.com.
Special Thanks
The exhibition development team behind Picturing Politics would like to thank all of our partners and sponsors, as well as the following individuals in particular for their time and support.
Archives of Ontario
Alison Little
Danielle Manning
Jay Young
Jonathan Rotsztain
Toronto Public Library
David Sprague
Nicole Dawkins
Cartoonist in Residence
Lee Lai
Expert Panelists
Ardo Omer
Cleopatria Peterson
David Robertson
Academie Ste. Cecile International School
Ms. Melody LaBonte
Jessica Robins
Anjali Atikukke
Jingwen (Taylor) Huang
Aneesha Bhullar
Faculty of Information
Agnieszka Chalas
Camille-Mary Sharpe
Haley Bryant
Katherine Shyjak
Additional Support
Jordan Vetter
Albert Jansen
Laura Davis
Julian Voinic
Tarik Haiga
Land Acknowledgements
Land Acknowledgement for Toronto
We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.
Nisidotaw-Aki Toronto
Giinawind-Toronto nisidotaw maanda aki, zagaswidiwin kina bimaadzig Mississauga of the Credit miinwaa Anishnabeg miinwaa Chippewa miinwaa Haudenosaunee miinwaa Wendat bimaadjig. Gaye nisidotaw gakina bimaadjig zhinkazidwin Inuit miinwaa Metis. Toronto nisdotaw maanda mazingan waaki-midaaswi-shay-niswi wiijiMississaugas of the Credit.
Reconnaissance des territoires traditionnels (Toronto)
Nous reconnaissons que la terre sur laquelle nous nous réunissons est le territoire traditionnel de nombreuses nations, notamment les Mississaugas du Crédit, les Anishnabeg, les Chippewa, les Haudenosaunee et les Wendats, et abrite maintenant de nombreux peuples diversifiés des Premières nations, des Inuits et des Métis. Nous reconnaissons également que Toronto est couvert par le Traité 13 avec les Mississaugas du Crédit.
ᐃᐧᐣᒋᑲᑌ ᑐᕑᐊᐣᑐ ᑭᒋᐅᑌᓇᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᐣᑕᑦ ᐃᒪ ᐁᑭᐱᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ
ᓂᑎᐸᒋᒧᒥᐣ ᐅᒪ ᐊᐦᑭᑲᐠ ᑲᑕᔑᒪᐊᐧᒋᐦᐃᑐᔭᐠ ᐁᑭᐱᔑ ᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᔑᐣ ᐸᐸᑲᐣ ᑲᐅᑕᑲᓀᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᔑᐨ ᐃᑫᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑯᕑᐁᑎᐟ ᒥᓯᓴᐧᑲ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ, ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ, ᒋᐱᐊᐧ, ᐦᐊᐧᑌᓄᓴᐧᓂ ᒥᓇ ᐁᐧᐣᑕᐟ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᐦᐅᒪ ᓄᑯᑦ ᑲᑕᔑᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᓇᓇᑲ ᑲᐃᓇᑲᓀᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ, ᐃᓄᐃᐟ ᒥᓇ ᐊᐱᑕᐃᐧᑯᓯᓴᓇᐠ. ᓂᐃᐧᑕᒥᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑐᕑᐊᐣᑐ ᑭᒋᐅᑌᓇ ᑲᐃᔑᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᒪᔭᑦ ᐃᒪ ᐁᔑᐊᑌᐠ ᑯᕑᐁᑎᐟ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑐᕑᐃᑎ 13 ᐅᑕᑭᐃᐧ ᐊᔓᑕᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ.