Henry Major, 1889 - 1948 - John D. Rockefeller, Sr. - c. 1925 - T-Shirt

A pencil caricature in strict profile, the head turned right, with a hooked nose and a small, downturned mouth drawn in quick, confident lines.

Visual Elements & Composition

The drawing sits on warm cream paper, with charcoal-grey pencil doing nearly all the work. The head fills the frame in a tight portrait rectangle. Its flattened, cropped crown is shaded with short parallel strokes, and the nose is exaggerated enough to dominate the profile. Dense, feathered hatching in the lower left describes a dark garment or shoulder, and a collar line runs beneath the chin with a looping ornament hanging at the neck. The lines are loose and unfinished on purpose, which gives the sheet its immediate, sketch-like energy.

Meaning & Symbolism

The subject is John D. Rockefeller, Sr., one of the most prominent and closely watched American businessmen of the early twentieth century. His Standard Oil company was the focus of a landmark antitrust case that led to its breakup in 1911. The caricature turns that public figure into commentary. The sharpened nose, tight mouth and guarded profile carry the cool authority that made him both admired and resented, so the drawing reads as a portrait of a reputation as much as of a face. Henry Major (1889 to 1948) created the sheet, which dates to about 1925. Pencil caricatures like this were a common way to portray public figures in the magazines and newspapers of the period.

Cut for a Crew Neck

A profile caricature suits a shirt because the face is read from a short distance, the way a passerby reads a printed chest. The strong silhouette of the nose and collar stays clear as you move, and the hatched shadow at the lower left gives the composition a weight that anchors the print on the body. Wear it and the drawing becomes a conversation starter about how a public face gets remembered.