ABSTRACT
Gerard Hoffnung became widely known in Britain during the 1950s as a broadcaster and raconteur as well as for his published illustrations caricaturing the performance of music or the eccentricities of people around him. He was also identified with the uniquely comic symphony concerts for which he inveigled eminent musicians to compose or perform. At five years of age or before, Gerard was drawing soldiers and befeathered Indians, skulls, vehicles, fish, reptiles and suns. Conventional subjects for any such child, these are unusual in the variety of construction methods as well as their expressive achievements. The large volume of Gerard's work from his thirteenth year marks the final period of the Hoffnung family's residence in Berlin. It is perhaps surprising and a further demonstration of his mother's tenacity and interest if one were needed - that she managed to include so much of his work in the family luggage when hastily leaving the country.
