Drawn at a Venture: A Collection of Drawings

Fougasse's drawings are a loving blow to the stuffed shirts of interwar Britain. Published in 1922 with an introduction by A.A. Milne, this collection captures the absurd theatre of English life: the fierce dignity of village cricket, the quiet desperation of social small talk, the peculiar seriousness with which middle England takes its pleasures. Each sketch is a small act of rebellion, exposing the gentle ridiculousness hidden in proper behavior. The humor is dry, the linework confident, and the targets are never cruel just recognizable. These are drawings made by someone who clearly loved his countrymen enough to laugh at them. Almost a century later, the jokes still land because human nature hasn't changed all that much. The British may have invented new sports to take seriously, but the impulse to stand on dignity while making a fool of oneself remains eternal.