The Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom since 1933 | Page 128

Ralph Steadman?british
Plague Demon
1989
Edition 23/100
Signed
Framed
Silkscreen
86 x 67 cm
Guide Price £600
This print is part of a
series of images that
were projected during
the performances of
‘Plague and the
Moonflower’,
an eco-opera first
performed in Exeter
Cathedral in 1989 for
which Ralph wrote the
libretto, while Richard
Harvey composed
the score.

Ralph Steadman began his career as a
cartoonist satirising the British social and
political scene of the 1960s. In the 1970s,
responding to what he called “the screaming
lifestyle of America” he teamed up with Hunter
S. Thompson which resulted in his iconic
drawings for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
and collaborations ranging from The Kentucky
Derby to The Curse of Lono. Many of his
drawings were to be seen in Rolling Stone
magazine and he produced his book of collected
impressions of America in 1974.
His work has appeared in many newspapers and
magazines, from Punch and Private Eye in the
early years to the New Statesman, The New
Yorker and The Independent. Early in his career
he turned his creative energy to the literary
classics, beginning with Alice in Wonderland and
then Alice through the Looking Glace, and then
on to other works including Treasure Island,
Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451. He then
turned to the lives of Sigmund Freud and then
Leonardo da Vinci, reinterpreting their genius in
both words and drawings. Much of the 1990s
was spent travelling the vineyards and
distilleries of the world for Oddbins, the wine
merchant. These journeys resulted in three
books, the Grapes of Ralph, Untrodden Grapes
and Still Life with Bottle.
He wrote Doodaaa in 2002, partly satire and
partly autobiography, and The Joke’s Over, the
account of his relationship with Hunter S.

126 The Art of Resistance? Defending Academic Freedom

Thompson, in 2006. He has illustrated children’s books, books of
poetry with his friend, Adrian Mitchell, made sculptures and limited
edition prints. He has designed theatre costumes and sets,
produced graphics for television and film and designed stamps.
Lot 39