Kevin Kallaugher

Kevin Kallaugher (Kal) is the international award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Economist, the Baltimore Sun and the digital newsletter Counterpoint. The first resident cartoonist in The Economist’s 145-year history, his diverse portfolio includes more than 10,000 cartoons, 140 book and magazine covers, and six published collections of his work. The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons said, “Commanding a masterful style, Kallaugher stands among the premier caricaturists of the (twentieth) century.” In a distinguished – and syndicated – career that spans five decades, his work has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Kal shares his unique take on current events, politics, and the economy. He has lectured at TED, Harvard, Pixar, and Google, and his commentaries have engaged, enraged, and entertained readers and leaders around the globe. In lively and entertaining illustrated presentations, he utilizes his sharp wit and biting insight to tackle the issues of the day with well-placed humor and precision art. His presentation is capped off with live drawing of his favorite targets and a surprise for the audience (their own original cartoons to take home).

Awards, Publications, and International Exhibition. Kal has garnered international honors and awards in seven countries and held exhibitions of his work in 12. In 2015 and 2020 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning. He was twice winner of the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Prize for cartoonist of the year. He was recipient of the 2015 Herblock Prize and the 2014 Grand Prix for Cartoon of the Year in Europe. His work includes three award-winning illustrated wall calendars; acclaimed animations; and a 2008 board game about the financial crisis entitled “Credit Crunch.” In 2013, he published a major retrospective collection of his Economist drawings entitled Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of Kal Cartoons in The Economist. An earlier collection of his Economist work, Drawn from The Economist, was printed in 1988. Four collections of his Baltimore Sun cartoons have also been published: KALtoons (1992), KAL Draws a Crowd (1996), KAL Draws the Line (2000), and KAL Draws Criticism (2006). He also launched his first iPhone app in 2010.

Print and Animation Career. Early in his career Kal spent 10 years working in London as a cartoonist for publications like the Observer, the Sunday Telegraph, Today, and the Mail on Sunday. He returned to the U.S. in 1988 to join the Baltimore Sun as its editorial cartoonist. Between 1988 and 2006, he drew more than 4,000 cartoons for the Sun while continuing to draw two cartoons per week for The Economist. After a six-year hiatus, Kal rejoined the Sun in 2012. In 2007, he teamed up with Chicago’s famous Second City comedy troupe for a six-city touring show called “The Art of Satire.”

He worked with animation legend Richard Williams to produce an award-winning, 30-second television commercial and has created animations for The Economist, ABC’s Nightline and CNN’s Lou Dobbs.

He has been the artist-in-residence at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), The Studios at Key West and the Masterworks Museum in Bermuda.  Kal is the past President of The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and Cartoonists Rights Network International, a human rights group dedicated to protecting cartoonists around the globe.

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