 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

