David Levine

                                          2005 - 2009

Hermenegildo Sábat

                                              2010 - 2018

Every art form and every «tribe» of artists has its heroes. David Levine's art, without a doubt, places him as one of the greatest references in the world of editorial cartooning. He is one of our heroes.

The unmistakable lines of his creations have influenced generations of cartoonists around the world. The graphic quality of his work is always accompanied by a refined editorial sensibility. Each of Levine's drawings is a lesson in the art of «reading» the world, as well as showing the reader how to observe it with different eyes.

In inviting David Levine to be the Honorary President of the World Press Cartoon, we sought two objectives: first, to honor a Master; second, to declare an ambition. The Master, who left us in 2009, a few days after turning 83, will always receive tribute in the form of admiration for his works. Ambition is what moves and inspires us. It is expressed with a greater shape through the desire to emulate, in the context of a press drawings exhibition, the excellence that the Master cultivated and continues to represent.

By accepting our invitation in 2005, David Levine became a founding partner in this endeavor, to our great honour and satisfaction. He is no longer with us, but he will always be one of our own.

Hermenegildo Sábat and David Levine shared a lifelong passion for freedom of the press. And they cultivated the art of cartooning as the ultimate form of practicing and defending it. When David Levine died, in December 2009, Sabat took his place almost automatically.

By then World Press Cartoon had already established itself internationally as a reference for graphic humour in the press. Among Levine's enormous legacy, for us there was the great responsibility of continuing to guarantee the quality and global dimension of an event to which he has left his name associated and which he generously sponsored.

We could not have found a better successor than Master Hermenegildo Sábat. Sábat have been with World Press Cartoon since its inception. He was a member of our first jury in 2005 and contributed to the growth of our organization with his advice, his experience, and his presence at decisive moments. Sábat's published work and international prestige speak elequently about his human and artistic dimension.

We were honored to carry the privilege of having him as Honorary President between 2010 and 2018, when he left us, continuing to work to make World Press Cartoon the global hall where authors from all continents, all cultures and all sensibilities can compete for awards that distinguish talent, creativity and the courage to show us, with a smile, the facts and protagonists who bring newspapers around the world to life every day.