Pen and Brush in Foreign Affairs

This book presents a selection of the greatest hits of Ib Ohlsson, the longtime illustrator for Foreign Affairs magazine. It is the story of our times, refracted through the lens of a great artist's singular vision.

Over three decades as Foreign Affairs' contributing artist, Ib Ohlsson has produced drawings that have mischievously subverted the sober and serious articles they accompany. His wit and artistry have provided flashes of illumination and delight among the endless gray columns of text, and his gentle mockery has kicked the pedestals out from under legions of the high and mighty. This book presents a selection of Ib's greatest hits, culled from the stacks and presented for posterity with the love and care they deserve. It is the story of our times, refracted through the lens of a great artist's singular vision.

Ib Ohlsson was born in 1935 in Copenhagen, Denmark. After graduating from the School of Applied Arts, he spent four years in the Copenhagen design studio of Kai Rich. In 1960, Ohlsson moved to the United States, where he worked as a junior designer at Walter Dorwin Teague Associates in New York and then at a packaging-design firm in California. Starting in 1962, he served as a freelance illustrator for book publishers and later drew political cartoons for a variety of newspapers. After a 24-year stint at Newsweek, Ohlsson began contributing to Foreign Affairs in 1994. He lives in Pelham, New York.