Carrying Ballast c. 1910 - 1912

Clifford Kennedy Berryman made this cartoon using ink on paper, but the date is unknown. It's this playful take on the Wright Brothers, with Uncle Sam and a little teddy bear in the mix! The drawing's all about line work, etched with a kind of cross-hatching that gives it a real sense of depth and texture. I can imagine Berryman hunched over his desk, carefully building up these characters and their world, mark by mark. You feel like you're right there with him, watching the scene unfold. The Wright Brothers, decked out in medals, standing proud, while Uncle Sam gives them a nod of approval. And then there's that teddy bear – a symbol of childhood and innocence. Berryman is saying something important about the relationship between progress, ingenuity and cultural values. The longer you look, the more the piece invites you to consider ideas around innovation, success and the things that weigh us down. There's this sense of lightness of touch, this feeling that anything is possible. It's a reminder that art, like life, is an ongoing experiment, full of surprises and unexpected connections.