Artist.  He spent most of his career creating lithographs for French newspapers,  in which he bitterly satirized the faults of the bourgeoisie,  the corruption of the law,  and the injustices of his age.  His late-period prints bear an astonishing resemblance to today’s political cartoons.  As a painter Daumier pioneered in unblemished portrayals of working-class life,  but his accomplishments in this field were not recognized until after his death.  He also sculpted small clay busts,  mostly of local political leaders,  as aids to his drawing;  many have been cast in bronze and exhibited throughout the world.  (One recent critic said of them,  “They are about the size of hand grenades,  and just as deadly”).  In all Daumier produced over 4000 lithographs and 200 paintings.  He was born in Marseille and raised in Paris.  In 1832,  while on the staff of “La Caricature”,  his grotesque depictions of Emperor Louis Philippe landed him in prison for six months.  He later  joined the satirical journal “Charivari”.  Daumier was blind for the last two years of his life.  His lithographs have given him a lasting reputation as one of the giants of printmaking. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)