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  1. Portrait of Clifford Berryman - Click to Enlarge
  2. Clifford Berryman Self Portrait - Click to Enlarge
  3. Drawing the Line in Mississippi - Cartoon featuring Berryman’s iconic teddy bear

“So Near and Yet So Far!”
May 13, 1908

This cartoon shows William Jennings Bryan attending a State Dinner at the White House hosted by departing President Theodore Roosevelt. Bryan, who would soon secure the Democratic nomination for President, is shown looking longingly at the Presidential chair. Roosevelt tries to guide the fixated Bryan back to the dining area, while the teddy bear comments on Bryan’s Presidential dreams.

U.S. Senate Collection
Center for Legislative Archives

From Berryman’s Recurring Cast of Characters...

Clifford Berryman is credited with introducing this lasting symbol into the American consciousness. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot an old bear during a hunting trip. In his drawings Berryman transformed the old bear into a cute, cuddly “teddy bear”—named for the President. The image not only became a common symbol representing Theodore Roosevelt in Berryman‘s cartoons, but also gave rise to the popular stuffed teddy bear. After Roosevelt left office, Berryman continued to use the teddy bear to represent his own personal point of view. See more of Berryman’s Recurring Symbolic Characters