'Trophy of the Month' Lord Burghley by illustrator Anthony Wysard c1948

Wysard, Anthony (1907-1984). Trophy of the Month - Bagged and Stuffed. Original signed caricature of Lord Burghley for The Strand Magazine. c.1948.

Original unfinished caricature in pencil and colour on paper, 300 x 220 mm. Signed in pencil at the foot, with the pencilled caption "Trophy of the Month - bagged and stuffed by Anthony Wysard" and "The Strand" above the composition. Further pencil studies and manuscript working notes on the reverse. Pinholes, light surface soiling and a few small marks; right-hand edge unevenly trimmed. Overall good.

Lord Burghley is depicted mounted on a wooden shield in the manner of a hunting trophy, above a mantelpiece of cups and other objects. The head and shield are worked in colour, while the surrounding composition remains in pencil, with overlapping figure studies. The identification is supported by comparison with Wysard's caricature of Burghley with Lord Lonsdale in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG D285).

David Cecil, Lord Burghley (1905-1981), later 6th Marquess of Exeter, was an athlete, Conservative politician and prominent sporting administrator. He won the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and chaired the organising committee for the 1948 London Games. 

A preparatory design for The Strand Magazine, although publication has not been established. The working notes on the reverse include Quintin Hogg and Michael Foot, whom Wysard jointly caricatured for the magazine's "Uncommon People" series in a drawing dated c.1948 by the National Portrait Gallery, supporting the approximate dating of this sheet.