LOW'S "OBITUARY."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 236, 5 October 1936, Page 6

LOW'S "OBITUARY."

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. Here is the "auto-obituary" of David Low, the famous Xevv Zealand-born cartoonist, as written by him for "The Listener": David Low, who passed away 011 his drawing board yesterday, was born in ( New Zealand of respectable*parents who intended him for an ecclesiastical career; but he proved to be no good at arithmetic and became a cartoonist. He developed an interest in affairs, and in 1002 published his lirst political cartoon, which was applauded a* displaying much statesmanship. He was then aged 11, which is about the right age for a political, critic. This lirst cartoon, which represented the local authorities as lunatics because of their reluctance to remove certain trees which obstructed traffic, epitomises Low's life work, for be may be said to have lived on the same idea throughout his long career, varying and adjusting it to situations as they arose. He worked as hireling for various newspapers of different complexions, often displaying that breadth of vision and liberality of spirit which make it possible, over different' signatures in different papers, to take two opposite sides at once. In this, way he could claim to have assisted in both the rise and the. fall of contemporary statesmen and to have made 3. valuable contribution to both the boom and the bust of his native land. After a restless childhood spent in moulding the destinies of New Zealand, Low removed at, the age of 19 to Australia to join the staff of the Sydney "Bulletin," a rebellious weekly with a tradition of biting caricature. In this congenial atmosphere he began to develop a social conscience and to go in for humour seriously. It was no longer enough merely to amuse the children. Within the limits of

the medium, by the inverse method of ridiculing the. wrong, he strove to encourage the right aiid to give his work direction. _ He expressed himself freely in advocating policies of nationalism and socialism, latterly helping the Prime Minister, Mr. Hughes, to mess up the Big War. For his services he was decorated with the Order, of the Lemon (First Class). In 1020 Low came to London, first to the "Star" and later to the "Evening Standard." Surveying the post-war scene he realised that his usefulness lay in being a Nuisance dedicated to sanity. Accordingly, in .a number of "telling" cartoons in which Co-operation, Disarmament and Peace were represented as statuesque females wearing spotless 1 classic robes, and the opposit«s to these ideas as devils with wild beasts, he appealed for realism in place of the idealistic nonsense of nationalistic patriotism, when world reconstruction was discussed. Responsible circles, however, failed to take the hint, with appalling consequences which are now history. , Not Seeking Popularity. Low held that it was no business of a conscientious cartoonist to be popular in the sense of conforming to popular prejudice. It was not unnatural that he passed the most satisfactory period of his career with the "Evening Standard," the proprietor of which opposed Low's policies as much as Low opposed his, and the readers of which were as irritated with Lqw as Low was with them. A firm upholder of the highest traditions of his peculiarly British art, he believed that in a' democracy the revelation of personalities is a useful public work, and he was restrained only by inept libel laws from drawing leaders and their activities in the nude. Many of his works hang 111 various art galleries and institutions, including the British .Museum, and Mr. Baldwin's bathroom; but, since the art of caricature at its best tends to become esoteric, his finest later efforts were appreciated by himself alone, and then often only subconsciously. "Tragedy of the Comedian." Of a melancholy disposition, Low -was oppressed in maturity by the tragedy of the comedian, which is that he is never taken seriously. Believing himself to be the only true Conservative he had ever met, he vigorously advocated Happiness and Prosperity, and was disappointed, though not embittered, at their non-realisation. He favoured Liberty and Democracy, also, until their ab6lition; though he is reported to have stated recently that in his opinion the ideal form of government would be a benevolent despotism with himself as the despot. No lover of humanity, he preferred Crusoe's Island to a public meeting; no philosopher, lie liked to sit by a lake and think of nothing; 110 sybarite, he found a ninepenny seat at the cinema more entertaining than the feasts of princes. A simple, kindly man. No flowers, by request.