Mr. Punch in the Arts: An American Punch from 1937

 

"Puppet Punch"
Edward Strzalkowski, 1937
Watercolor, Pen and Ink
The National Gallery, U.S.


Mr. Punch’s popularity didn’t stop in England. He traveled across the ocean and found a nice place for himself in the United States—his tradition carried on by immigrant Punch & Judy Men. Mr. Punch’s American persona changed a bit from his British guise, but his antics remained relatively the same.

Here, we see a drawing from 1937 by Edward Strzalkowski which was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1943. The artist shows an Americanized Mr. Punch with a wooden head, fur wig and costume of fur, velvet, corduroy, and cotton. Unlike the glove puppets which were the fashion in English Punch & Judy shows, many American versions were operated by means of a stick which extended into the figure’s head.

Historical drawings such as this give of a sense of Mr. Punch’s many-centuries-long evolution and show us the influence that has had on all the arts.