SANTA FE — Pat Oliphant died at the age of 90 on Monday, July 13, 2026, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His death marks the end of a six-decade career that redefined American political cartooning and influenced how generations viewed power, hypocrisy, and public figures.

Oliphant’s son, Grant Oliphant, stated that his father died from age-related issues. Grant Oliphant also said his father began losing his eyesight due to glaucoma around the age of 80 and had to retire from professional cartoon work. Despite that, Pat Oliphant continued to paint at his home in Santa Fe after retiring from professional cartoon work.

Pat Oliphant was a political cartoonist known for creating caricatures of U.S. and world leaders. His work ridiculed powerful figures such as President Lyndon B.

Johnson and Donald Trump for over five decades. He drew Jimmy Carter with large teeth and lips, alluding to his background as a farmer and the cultural stereotype of adaptation to rural work. He depicted Ronald Reagan with a cork in his ear because he thought Reagan was uninterested in the suffering of the American people.

Oliphant won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1967 while working at The Denver Post, a position he joined in 1964—about a decade after moving to the United States from his native Australia. However, Oliphant despised the Pulitzer Prize he won in 1967. He was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1935, and started as a copy desk aide at a local newspaper, where he discovered his interest in art while seeing a cartoonist at work. His first in-house cartoonist job was at The Advertiser in his hometown of Adelaide.

During the 1980s, Pat Oliphant's daily political cartoons appeared in more than 500 publications in the U.S. and around the world. He was widely considered the most syndicated editorial cartoonist in the U.S.

Oliphant later joined The Washington Stars after his tenure at The Denver Post. He moved to Santa Fe in 2002 and remained there for the rest of his life.

Oliphant tackled controversial subjects deemed unacceptable by the establishment, including the Catholic Church and its pedophilia scandals in 2002. He also addressed Israel’s offense against Hamas in Gaza in 2008. His willingness to confront taboo topics sometimes drew backlash: Oliphant's ethnic caricatures drew complaints about false stereotypes and racism from organizations such as the Asian American Journalists Association and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Bill Banowsky, director of the documentary 'A Savage Art: The Life & Cartoons of Pat Oliphant,' said, "He redefined what it meant to be a political cartoonist and to be fearless of his work." Banowsky added, "His work has a fierce pursuit of bringing injustice to life. And he was very effective."

Grant Oliphant said, "He decided cartooning could merge his interests in art and commentary." He also recalled, "He wanted to be the best in the world." Beyond cartoons, Pat Oliphant was a multidimensional artist who created sculptures, lithographs, and oil paintings.

Hampton Sides, a Santa Fe-based writer and friend of Oliphant, said, "He loved the creative ferment of Santa Fe. We had constant parties at his house far into the night with a wide range of thinkers, musicians and writers." Sides added, "He enjoyed the constant interplay of ideas."

Oliphant said, "My father challenged the idea of the political establishment being sublimely serious as it is." He continued, "We really need that in today’s America." Grant Oliphant also stated that it seems society has lost the capacity to receive humor, debate, and contrary opinions in the current political environment.

Pat Oliphant’s career spanned more than half a century of American and global political upheaval, during which he used satire to hold power to account when few others would. His work reached millions daily at its peak, and his influence extended beyond journalism into fine art and public discourse. His death comes at a time when political cartooning has diminished in prominence, and his son’s remarks reflect broader concerns about declining tolerance for dissenting viewpoints in public life.

Oliphant’s legacy includes not only his Pulitzer Prize but also a body of work that tackled subjects many editors deemed too sensitive for publication. His caricatures—however polarizing—forced audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about leaders and institutions, setting a standard for editorial courage that remains a benchmark in visual journalism.