Henry Major

1889 - 1948 American

Henry Major

Caricaturist turned painter, creator of Gay Philosopher

Henry Major was a caricaturist, painter. Born in Hungary in 1889, Henry Major moved to the United States in 1923 after a career as a caricaturist in Vienna and London. He became well known throughout the 1920's for traveling around the country caricaturing local politicians, businessmen and actors. He devoted his later years to painting. He created a popular stock character, the Gay Philosopher, whose image was used on promotional items like matchbooks and calendars. Major arrived in Provincetown in the early 1930s. He died in September 1948.

Artworks by this artist