OCTOBER 29 • 2020 | 29
H
oward Schwartz enjoys
the humor of political
cartoons, has amassed
a collection of original drawings
to characterize presidential
campaigns and decided to put
them on view. Although he
intended to display the draw-
ings in a gallery at the time of a
national election, the pandemic
changed his plans.
Like so many others with
artistic interests, Schwartz has
turned to a digital platform. The
cartoons, kept on view in his
home, have been copied and are
showcased on a new website,
potustoons.com.
The collection, so far with 23
images and three more in the
framing stage, is joined with
caricatures of winners even
beyond the years covered in
cartoons.
“I intend to have all the
elections eventually represent-
ed,
” said Schwartz, who has a
commercial real estate business
in Farmington Hills. “I look at
them every day because they’
re
in my house.
“I wanted to share them
with the public because they
become so topical in an election
year. Not everyone will have
an appreciation for some of the
points of view artists may por-
tray, but they have to do with
historical and political interests.
”
Schwartz, who describes him-
self as a fiscal conservative and
social liberal, traces his personal
commitments to parental exam-
ples of a broader scope. He has
voted early in this year’
s election
but does not want to disclose
his ballot.
Schwartz’
s cartoon collecting
started in the 1980s when he
was living in New York. While
looking through an art gallery,
Schwartz noticed a drawing
depicting candidates in the
George H.W
. Bush/Michael
Dukakis campaign and bought
it.
“I got to meet the artist,
Timothy Patrick Moynihan
(a.k.a. Gus Murphy), the son
of the late Sen. Daniel Patrick
Moynihan, and four years
later, I commissioned another
drawing,
” Schwartz said. “
Again,
four years later, I commissioned
another drawing and kept those
commissions going.
”
After the artist died,
Schwartz’
s collection froze until
finding other artists — Victor
Juhasz of upstate New York,
Michael Edholm of Iowa and
Thomas Fluharty of South
Dakota. Schwartz wanted each
image to tell the story without
captions even as some images
show people in addition to can-
didates.
“The flavor of the convey-
ARTS&LIFE
ART
continued on page 30
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Local collection of political cartoons
goes on display virtually.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOWARD SCHWARTZ
Howard and
Robin Schwartz
Art
Presidential