Image: The Cartoon Museum, London
The Cartoon Museum in London will explore the history and public role of portrait caricature in ‘Does my head look BIG in this? The art of portrait caricature’, an exhibition running from 23 May to 1 November 2026. The presentation will examine how artists have used distortion, satire and humour to reflect social attitudes, scrutinise public figures and question the narratives advanced by those in power.
The exhibition follows caricature from its origins in Renaissance Italy through what the museum describes as its “outrageous Golden Age” in 18th-century England and into its continued popularity in the present day. The museum’s announcement describes caricatures as provocative, insightful and rude, while also identifying their capacity to challenge the status quo and call elected leaders to account.
Visitors will be able to examine work by several notable practitioners, including Gerald Scarfe, David Levine and Andre Carrilho. The selection places portrait caricature within both a historical and contemporary framework, bringing together artists associated with political commentary, public satire and the comic treatment of recognisable personalities. The museum has not published a complete checklist of works for the exhibition.
The show is part of The Cartoon Museum’s programme devoted to cartoon art and visual satire. At its Fitzrovia premises on Wells Street, the institution maintains a permanent collection of British editorial cartoons, caricatures and comic strips dating from the 18th century to the present, alongside changing exhibitions. Its wider programme includes displays focused on political cartooning, graphic storytelling and the history of comics.
The exhibition is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with the museum also acknowledging National Lottery players. That funding places the project within the museum’s ongoing work of presenting cartooning and caricature as subjects with historical, political and artistic dimensions rather than solely as forms of entertainment.
A panel discussion connected to the exhibition is scheduled for 24 September at 18:30. Chaired by museum director Beth Bryan, it will bring together three artists identified by the museum as featured exhibitors: Dave Brown, Nicola Jennings and Wilfrid Wood. The programme is listed separately from the exhibition and is intended to extend its discussion of portrait caricature through a conversation with contemporary practitioners.
‘Does my head look BIG in this? The art of portrait caricature’ will be on view at The Cartoon Museum, 63 Wells Street, London, from 23 May through 1 November 2026. The museum’s published exhibition hours list a 10:30 opening on the first day and a 16:00 closing on the final day.
