{"id":169597,"date":"2025-06-06T10:56:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=169597"},"modified":"2025-06-06T13:20:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:20:58","slug":"ralph-steadman-and-another-thing-showcases-60-years-of-the-artists-uncanny-unique-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/06\/ralph-steadman-and-another-thing-showcases-60-years-of-the-artists-uncanny-unique-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing’ showcases 60 years of the artist’s uncanny, unique perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Bates College Museum of Art opens a major show on June 6, Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing<\/em>,<\/a> featuring a visual adventure through the long career of the artist and illustrator. It runs through Oct. 11 and includes 149 objects that deftly capture Steadman\u2019s artistic practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last six decades, Steadman has carved out a career by presenting his uncanny, unique perspective on everything from the Kentucky Derby in the early 1970s \u2014 alongside his longtime collaborator, the late journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson \u2014 to political figures and literary treasures like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em>. Originally slated to come to Bates in 2020 but delayed because of the pandemic, the exhibition will fill the whole museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free Admission, Always<\/strong>
Admission to the Bates College Museum of Art is always free. Through August, the museum is open 10 a.m.\u20135 p.m., Monday through Saturday, closed on June 19 and July 4. See the museum’s hours page<\/a> for up-to-date information.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt\u2019s a vast selection of work by this iconic artist,\u201d said Samantha Sigmon, the assistant curator at the Bates Museum of Art who has curated the exhibition. \u201cIt will provide an opportunity for everyone \u2014 from longtime fans to newcomers \u2014to engage with Ralph Steadman\u2019s incomparable works and experience the unique mind and defining style of such a pivotal creative in American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"artwork
Among the works by Ralph Steadman now at the Bates Museum of Art is “Fear and Loathing in Elko for Rolling Stone Magazine,” 1991, ink on paper.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Steadman, who is 89 and lives in the United Kingdom, will not be in attendance at the opening, but his daughter Sadie Williams arrived in Lewiston early to oversee the installation and be part of the opening festivities on June 6; the reception is 7\u20139 p.m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn an educational level, this exhibition is nothing less than a history of culture spanning multiple generations and topics \u2014 politics, literature, gonzo journalism,\u201d said Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be hosting it here at Bates.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While And Another Thing<\/em> pays tribute to Thompson and Steadman\u2019s future-defining meeting and their famed collaborations, the exhibition leads viewers on a journey through a widely varied artistic practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s essential to have some form of expression within your reach that gives you something to dwell upon,\u201d Steadman said. \u201cBut if I feel something is important, it may not be important to someone else. I don\u2019t want to change anyone\u2019s mind in an aggressive way. I hope they see my drawings and it makes them think about why I drew it and what opinion I am trying to express.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sadie
Sadie Williams, Ralph Steadman\u2019s daughter and the managing director of the Ralph Steadman Art Collection, with Vintage Dr. Gonzo<\/em>, a life-size bronze sculpture by Jud Bergeron, inspired by Steadman\u2019s famed drawings of journalist (and frequent Steadman collaborator) Hunter S. Thompson. The bronze, which is touring with Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing<\/em>, represents a rare invitation to touch the art at an exhibition because, as Williams points out, the oils on human hands enhance the patina. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd Another Thing<\/em> allows us to engage audiences with an exhibition that shows Steadman\u2019s artistic evolution from his roots to the artist who continues to flourish, innovate, and be in demand at 89 years old with interest from brands such as Nike, Harley-Davidson, and Supreme, with whom he collaborated in the last three years,\u201d said Williams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams also serves as the director of the Ralph Steadman Art Collection. The collection was founded in 2010 to promote Steadman\u2019s work and ensure his art is exhibited and reproduced to the highest standard, working closely with the artist on exhibitions, collaborative licensing, and design projects. These collaborations include work with the Alexander McQueen couture fashion house, urban fashion brand Vans, and the Royal Shakespeare Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political commentary is a staple of Steadman\u2019s work and the exhibition includes illustrations of President Donald Trump and former Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Jimmy Carter. The works demonstrate his astute political satire that meshes their traits with the scandals that plagued their presidencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steadman\u2019s use of the high-contrast chiaroscuro technique in \u201cAmerican Melodrama\u201d lampoons a gallery of presidents, ranging from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan, who are depicted as theater performers on stage. The caricatures, their countenances exaggerated with insincere smiles, demonstrate Steadman\u2019s razor-sharp satire.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"artwork
Among the works by Ralph Steadman now at the Bates Museum of Art is Self Portrait, 2006, ink, collage on paper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cSteadman is well known for his direct and visceral drawing style and for changing and amplifying the face of satire through his illustrations,\u201d said Andrea Lee Harris, the exhibition co-curator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis art challenges us, teaches us, and alters how we see the world. Showcasing Steadman\u2019s genius, skill, and imagination, the exhibition offers viewers a glimpse into the artist\u2019s creative force. He has given us all a great gift and raised the bar for the generations following in his footsteps. Steadman\u2019s inspired exhibition will delight both die-hard fans and uninitiated audiences eager to learn more.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On display are his illustrated editions of literary classics such as Lewis Carroll\u2019s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em> and Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s Treasure Island<\/em>; Kurt Baumann\u2019s Dozy and Hawkeye<\/em>; and the inventive books Steadman authored such as I, Leonardo<\/em>, The Big I Am<\/em>, The Little Red Computer<\/em>, That\u2019s My Dad<\/em>, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"portrait
Ralph Steadman at home, October 2023. (Photograph by Rikard \u00d6sterlund)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t think people realize how big some of the artworks actually are,\u201d Williams said. \u201cUsually the art is reproduced in books, magazines, and newspapers at an eighth or even a 16th their actual size, so it\u2019s a completely different experience to stand in front of an original. You can see the audience really absorbing the works and taking it in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beautiful works from The Gonzovation Trilogy<\/em>, Steadman’s collaboration with documentarian and filmmaker Ceri Levy about extinct and endangered birds and animals, sit alongside his more experimental collections such as Paranoids<\/em>, caricatures of notable figures from history, entertainment, and politics that Steadman created by reworking Polaroid photographs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steadman explained, \u201cWhat you\u2019re doing is pushing around a light-motivated material which is still in the process of change. It\u2019s as if you started off with a perfect blueprint of someone which you could then alter according to your needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distorted images depict famous writers and musicians, including David Bowie, Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vintage Dr. Gonzo<\/em>, a life-size bronze sculpture by Jud Bergeron, inspired by Steadman\u2019s drawings of Thompson, will also be touring with the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing<\/em> is accompanied by a full-color, 207-page publication of the same name. Special hardcover and softcover editions will be available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the presentation at the Bates College Museum of Art, the exhibition will continue its tour at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. It will also tour the West Coast through fall 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bates College Museum of Art exhibition offers a visual adventure through the long career of the artist and illustrator, with objects that deftly capture Steadman\u2019s artistic practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":169617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[11010,133],"tags":[1363],"class_list":["post-169597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-creativity","tag-bates-college-museum-of-art"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169597"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169635,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169597\/revisions\/169635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}