This is an actual pen and ink drawing -- guaranteed original -- by the political cartoonist Fred O. Seibel who worked as the editorial cartoonist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 1926 until 1968.

13" x 16" ink on smooth card paper board

THE SUBJECT:
Still hugely popular due to his leading role in World War II, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower won a landslide victory in 1952 over Democrat Adlai Stevenson. That ended a long string of Democratic Party wins that stretched back twenty years. Republicans also won control of both houses of Congress.

THE ART:
This original drawing was done with brush and black ink on thick, coated, card weight paper. It's in very good condition with no tears or bent paper. The light scuffs and soil are likely the result of the handling that occurred during the printing process at the Richmond Times Dispatch.
 
Seibel wrote the title of the piece at the top: Over The Fence is Out."

The little spectacled crow standing on the fence in the drawing was Seibel's mascot, and appeared in nearly all of his cartoons, usually reacting to the content.

Yes, this was a published cartoon, and the publication date is probably the date written in the cartoon's border, lower left: 10-8-52.

Signed by Seibel twice: within the border of the art, lower right, and after his hand written inscription to his fan, Horace L. Dorsam. Seibel often gave away his original art to folks who wrote to him and requested it. This cartoon is one of a few I acquired from Mr. Dorsam's estate in Richmond, Virginia.

THE ARTIST
Prolific American political cartoonist Frederick Otto Seibel (1886-1969) became famous for his work in the FDR New Deal era of the 1930s-40s .

Nearly 15,000 of his political cartoons were published during his 42 year career at the Richmond Times Dispatch, and his work was widely reprinted in other newspapers and in government and history textbooks.

Exhibitions of his work were featured at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts presented his work in a one-man show.  Today, the largest collection of his art is held by the University of Virginia.

Fred O. Seibel holds an important place in both political commentary and comic and cartooning history; his stylized caricatures would become the norm of 1950s magazine art, so his work was as influential artistically as it was politically.