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He followed the choir very well, finishing exactly at the same time, which is important' (Edward Heath)

5 of 62 portraits of Sir Edward Heath

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He followed the choir very well, finishing exactly at the same time, which is important' (Edward Heath)

by Victor Weisz
ink and crayon, circa 1966
14 7/8 in. x 21 1/2 in. (378 mm x 546 mm)
Given by executors of Elizabeth Weisz, 2003
Primary Collection
NPG 6632

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Victor Weisz (1913-1966), 'Vicky'; cartoonist. Artist or producer associated with 15 portraits, Sitter in 2 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This is a of a cartoon that appeared in the Evening Standard on 17 January 1966. In November 1965 the Rhodesian government, led by Ian Smith, issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the UK, which resulted in the Labour Government under Harold Wilson imposing sanctions. This caused a split in the Conservative Party, led since July 1965 by Edward Heath, whose right wing opposed sanctions. Here Shadow Cabinet members Lord Salisbury and Julian Amery, are looking away to their right, while Home, Lloyd, Maudling, Edward Boyle, Macleod and Hailsham are following the conductor, Heath. Sir Malcolm Sargent had conducted the London Promenade Concerts since 1948, and the allusion is to a carol concert that Heath conducted in December 1965 at which Sargent was present (Vicky has got the year wrong). In this version a figure roughly the shape of Powell has been painted out in white. The actual published cartoon was redrawn with Enoch Powell instead of Boyle, Angus Maude in place of Lloyd, the correct date for the Sargent reference, and the word 'Rhodesia' dropped.

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Events of 1966back to top

Current affairs

The English football team wins against West Germany at the World Cup Final in Wembley.
144 people, including 116 children, die in the Aberfan disaster when a colliery waste tip slides down a mountain in Wales.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are sentence to life imprisonment for the brutal Moors Murders.

Art and science

Tom Stoppard's first play Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead premiers. This absurdist play uses two minor characters from Hamlet to explore the existential themes of free will versus determinism and the futility of language.
Seamus Heany publishes his first volume of poems, Death of a Naturalist.

International

The Cultural Revolution is launched in China in order to bring Chinese culture and society in line with communist ideals. It was also, however, an attempt by Mao Zedong to regain control of the country after the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Michael Ramsey meets Pope Paul VI, the first official meeting between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches for 400 years.

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