OSU Museum of Art welcomes Ralph Steadman exhibit for spring semester

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Media Contact: Jeff Hopper | Communications and Media Relations Manager | 405-744-5827 | jeff.hopper@okstate.edu

This spring, the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art will host a world-class exhibition of works from iconic British illustrator Ralph Steadman. 

Featuring over 140 pieces of art from the various collections that Steadman, 88, has produced during his celebrated career, the exhibit will also feature pieces of ephemera like sketches, photos and even letters between Steadman and his close friend and colleague, Hunter S. Thompson, with whom Steadman frequently and famously collaborated. 

The exhibit, which opened Jan. 21 and runs through May 10, is free and open to the public. 

“We really think that it could be beneficial to our students to see something like this. So, we were really excited and really grateful to Ralph Steadman Art Collection team, Sadie Williams and Andrea Lee Harris for bringing it to us,” said Casey Ihde, OSU Museum of Art marketing and communications coordinator. 

This summer, the museum met with four faculty members to find ways to implement the exhibit into class coursework. The Prairie Arts Center will also include this exhibit in its art camps. 

With community involvement, university students and local children have the opportunity to view Steadman’s raw and expressive work and create artwork inspired by the exhibit. Beginning in April, the works created by students and community members will be displayed next to Steadman’s work.

Born in 1936 in Wallasey, England, a small town bordering Liverpool, Steadman witnessed the horrors of WWII. This affected his perspective on human nature, which is reflected in many of his pieces. Steadman also credits his unorthodox beginning as an artist with the development of his unique techniques.  

“I didn't start as an artist in any way,” he said. “I went to de Havilland Aircraft Factory in Chester, and after nine months there, I just couldn't stand factory life. I think I saw this ad for work that said, ‘You too can learn to draw and earn pounds at the Percy V. Bradshaw press art school course.’ And I think that's why I did that.”

Eventually getting his first cartoon published in the Manchester Evening Chronicles in 1956, Steadman decided to enroll at East Ham Technical College, where he continued to hone his craft. One of the biggest hurdles, he said, is overcoming a blank canvas and the inertia of uncertainty.  

“That's why sometimes I used to just drop some ink on it really,” Steadman said. “I think it's a bit ominous because there’s nothing on it, so you've got to make a mess somehow. A mess is more important, more interesting, I think, than a blank page.” 

Steadman started exploring more provocative and unconventional techniques when working at Private Eye, a satirical newspaper, in 1961. This is where Steadman’s career began to blossom as he expanded into political cartoons and visceral images and drawings. 

Throughout the ’60s, Steadman illustrated many different children's books, including “Alice in Wonderland" in 1967, earning him the Frances Williams Award in 1972. 

“My favorite part was that I pleased myself and did what I wanted to do and made blots when I felt like it. And if I didn't want to blot, I didn't,” Steadman said. 

In 1970, everything changed for Steadman when he came to the U.S. to collaborate with a reporter to cover the Kentucky Derby. What began as a simple assignment would evolve into a lifelong friendship between the pair. The dynamic and unconventional duo would go on to create what's known as gonzo journalism — a form of journalism that focuses on telling the story through the writer’s own experience and perspective. 

The first piece Steadman and Thompson worked on was published under the headline “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved,” which wasn't focused on the race itself but rather the high-class society subculture surrounding the event. The piece brought Thompson’s writing style to the masses.

They would continue to work together until Thompson’s death in 2005, collaborating on notable works like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream” (1971) and “Polo is my Life” (1994). 

Though most well-known for his collaborations with Thompson, Steadman continued to produce other works, such as books like “Sigmund Freud” (1979) and “The Big I Am” (1998).

That’s the thing about Steadman; he is always finding new ways to be creative. 

“I used to put a piece of paper down on the floor, then throw dirty water at it. And the amazing patterns you got in it, the dirtier it was, the more interesting it became.”

This exhibit, like the artist it represents, is a unique gem. 

Story By: Darby Rains | darby.rains@okstate.edu