Time Magazine ‘Nixon vs. the Watergate Investigators’ c. 1970s

Jack Davis made this wild Time Magazine illustration called ‘Nixon vs. the Watergate Investigators’ using pen and ink. The colors are so saturated and juicy, it's like he's painting with flavors. Look at the energy! The way the figures are crammed together, like a clown car of political intrigue, it's all happening at once. The lines are thick and confident, but also loose and playful, like he's not afraid to let the ink do its thing. He’s corralling the whole Watergate mess into a saloon brawl, right? It’s chaotic, humorous, and dark all at the same time. I keep coming back to the broken mirror in the background – is it just a detail or is it Davis making a sly comment on the distortions and shattered trust of the era? Davis reminds me a bit of Philip Guston, a shared love for cartoonish forms, social commentary, and a willingness to embrace the absurd. Art can be funny, serious, and everything in between.