From the exhibition
'In the winning Crew' — Mr. R. McKenna, M.P.
Leslie Ward · 1906

Leslie Ward ('Spy') presents Reginald McKenna — Liberal MP and future Chancellor — as a trim, self-possessed figure in a dark frock coat, holding what appears to be official papers. The caption 'In the winning Crew' alludes to his rowing prowess at Cambridge and, politically, to his place in Campbell-Bannerman's landslide Liberal government of 1906. Ward's caricature is mild by Vanity Fair standards: the head is slightly enlarged, the reddish hair and pinkish complexion gently exaggerated, but there is no grotesque distortion. The profile pose — a Ward signature — conveys a man of quiet administrative competence rather than theatrical ambition, which suits McKenna's reputation as a capable, unflashy operator ascending through Liberal ranks.
Leslie Ward CC0