The Imaginary Instruments of Gerard Hoffnung

(1957-1959)

The caricatures of the German-born, British-raised artist and musical humorist Gerard Hoffnung (1925-1959) are replete with whimsical imaginary instruments. Many of his drawings play upon the curious zoological themes that turn up elsewhere in our museum (see The Bull of Phalaris and The Cat Piano), while others spoof the habits and attitudes of conductors, musicians, audience members, and composers (see “Schoenberg,” above). In their playful tweaking of viewers’ expectations and their striking imaginative force, Hoffnung’s drawings can be compared to those of Grandville, created a century earlier.

Images: The Hoffnung Companion to Music (London: Dobson, 1957), Hoffnung’s Musical Chairs (London: Dobson, 1958), and Hoffnung’s Acoustics (London: Dobson, 1959)