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University of Texas at Austin

David Suter:

An Inventory of His Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Suter, David
Title: David Suter Art Collection
Dates: 1970s
Extent: 4 boxes
Abstract: The collection consists of 30 drawings by David Suter, the majority created to accompany Washington Post stories on Watergate.
Call Number: Art Collection AR-00344
Language: English
Access: Open for research. Please note that a minimum of 24 hours notice is required to pull Art Collection materials to the Ransom Center's Reading and Viewing Room. Some materials may be restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve Art Collection materials, please contact the Center's staff at art@hrc.utexas.edu. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies: Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use: Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.


Administrative Information


Preferred Citation David Suter Art Collection (Art Collection AR-00344). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
Acquisition: Purchase, 2016
Processed by: Mary Alice Harper, 2016
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Biographical Sketch


David Suter was born in Washington, D.C., and as a child and young adult was constantly doodling and drawing. The genesis of his career as an artist began in 1969 when a friend's father, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, asked him to draw a picture of Richard Nixon for the next day's front page. The approved drawing was published as promised on July 20, 1969. Following subsequent stints at College of Wooster in Ohio, in the Army, and as a welder, Suter returned to the Post to illustrate the protagonists in the Watergate trials and create portraits of other politicians of the day. In 1977 Suter moved to New York and began contributing illustrations to publications such as The New York Times, Harper's, and The Atlantic. His distinctive style of strong lines, optical illusions and visual play is inspired by the work of M. C. Escher (1898-1972), Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593), and the graphic simplicity and straightforwardness of diagrams in Scientific American. Suter has since transitioned from illustrating for news media to working as a painter and sculptor.

Sources:


Parks, John. "The Power of Ink and Line." American Artist 68, no. 738 (2004): 68-73.
Suter, David. Suterisms. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.

Scope and Contents


The collection consists of 30 drawings by David Suter, all affixed to illustration board and containing annotations regarding subjects, image size, and printer instructions. The majority of the drawings, based on photographs, were created as illustrations to accompany stories on the Watergate affair and court proceedings in the Washington Post.

Related Material


Other collections at the Ransom Center contain material related to Watergate and include: Watergate Papers (MS-04916); Watergate Collection (MS-04968); Benjamin C. Bradlee Papers (MS-05285); and Norman Mailer Papers (MS-2643).

Index Terms


People

Bork, R.H. (Robert Heron).
Burns, Arthur F. (Arthur Frank), 1904-1987.
Connally, John Bowden, 1917-1993.
Cox, Archibald, 1912-2004.
Dean, John W. (John Wesley), 1938-.
Ehrlichman, John.
Haig, Alexander Meigs, 1924-2010.
Haldeman, H. R. (Harry R.), 1926-1993.
Hardin,Clifford M. (Clifford Morris), 1915-2010.
Jaworski, Leon.
Kissinger, Henry, 1923-.
Kleindienst, Richard G., 1923-2000.
Krogh, Egil, 1939- .
Magruder, Jeb Stuart, 1934-2014.
Mitchell, John N. (John Newton), 1913-1988.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.
Reinecke, Ed, 1924-2016.
Ruckelshaus, William Doyle, 1932- .
Schorr, Daniel, 1916-2010.
St. Clair, James D., 1920-2001.
Suter, David.
Washington, Walter E., 1915-2003.

Subjects

Politics & government--United States--1970-1980.
Politics & government--Washington (D.C.)--1950-2000.
Suter, David.
Watergate Affair, 1972-1974--Portraits.

Places

Washington (D.C.).

Document Types

Pen and ink drawings.

Corporate Names

The Washington Post.

Container List