Catalogue Number
NMLH.2022.364
Object Name
Print
People
David Cameron
Michael Gove
Date
2013
Description
A print of a 2013 artwork by political cartoonist Steven Bell, most known for his cartoons in the Guardian. The print depicts David Cameron and Michael Gove in dunce caps. Cameron's face is red and shiny whilst Gove holds a book upside down which reads "Free skools R shit". There is a sunset in the background. In 2013, David Cameron was Prime Minister of the UK and Michael Gove was appointed as Education Secretary. Steve Bell has signed the print in black Sharpie in the lower left corner, on the white border.
The back of the print features a photograph of two squeeze toys made to look like Gove and Cameron in Bell's cartoon. Black text reads: "IF THE CAP FITS / Steve Bell's depiction of Cameron and Gove as classroom dunces is well deserved. With the full support and enthusiastic backing of Cameron, Gove's idealogical meddling has allowed academies and free schooles to employ unqualified teachers. This is a big threat to standards of education. He won't give permission for councils to open new schools, only his favoured free schools and academies. The result? Schools put portocabins on school grounds to cope. He rushes through changes in the curriculum and exams, forcing unecessary stress on children as well as their teachers. Teacher morale is plummeting. Five years after qualifying, two in every five teachers are no longer qualifying. Our squeeziesare exclusively designed by Steve Bell fro the Guardian, produced by Philosophy Football."
