Life, 1923-02-15 · page 9 of 36
Life — February 15, 1923 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains four separate caricature sketches with accompanying verse, typical of Life's satirical format. **Percy Lowell** (top left): Depicted with a mortarboard and small figures, the verse mocks Harvard's prestige, suggesting its graduates should "admit" superiority rather than pretending otherwise. **Morrie Gest** (top right): Shown as a theatrical impresario, the poem references his involvement with Russian performers, likely the Russian Ballet's American tour, ironizing his role as cultural ambassador. **Wim Allen White** (bottom left): Portrayed at a desk in Kansas, the verse praises him as a plainspoken "man's man" representing frontier values against Eastern intellectualism. **Clare Sheridan** (bottom right): Depicted as a parrot-like figure, the verse sarcastically comments on her sculptural career, suggesting critics initially dismissed her work before reconsidering. These represent prominent 1920s cultural figures under satirical review.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
[ARV ARD’S run, it seems to me, Like a summer hostelry. If a solemn vow they've made That they'll get exclusive trade, Why not go on through with it? Bar all others—just admit To the realms of bean and cod Harvard's head—and, maybe, God. "AY out West, where men are men, Swift to fight, with fist or pen, Battling Bill, whom here we sec, Dashes off philosophy, Sure that every homely crack Will be worth its weight in jack. Kansas’ never-silent son — Ain’t he got a lot of fun? ERE’S the boy whose Russian troupe Sent the critics for a loop. Wild they shrieked, in Slavic joy, “Bravo!” “Bis!” and “Attaboy!” Each has graven on his heart, “Tf it’s Russian, then it’s art.” Would they'd let the Russians rest,— Heaven speed the parting Gest! HEN the lady used to sculp, Mixed emotions made us gulp; ~ Cried we then, in accents bright, “Well, perhaps the girl can write.” Then the lady’s interviews Crashed upon the daily news; Moan we now another lay,— “Give, oh, give her back her clay!” comicbooks.com