Imagination, Collaboration, History…and Just a Bit of Mischief

Since 2001, guests and locals visiting Off The Record, our bar, have been delighted by its “all sides of the aisle” vibe. This is exemplified in the artwork adorning the walls: framed caricatures of Washington’s notable personalities drawn with skill and humor. In 2015, these satirical portraits made their way to a new medium—coasters, served with each drink.

A few times each year, the hotel introduces new designs. Some of the wall artwork is shifted, but what guests notice first is the arrival of new coasters. The guests implore the bartenders and servers to bring them the latest—and for some, they have become collector’s items.

The singular force behind the popularity of the coasters, however, is as much their cast of cartoon characters as it is the warm and productive longtime collaboration with award-winning cartoonists Ann Telnaes, Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher, and Matt Wuerker. 

In honor of America's 250th, Kal and Matt have teamed up to surprise guests by straying from the political personalities of the current moment, to instead depict some of the Founding Fathers.

The artwork at Off The Record is legendary for its cheeky interpretation of Washington, DC’s political scene. Its relegations of bipartisan characters to caricatures sets the tone for the bar’s vibrant, easygoing vibe.

Many people know about the artwork, but may not know that Off The Record features more than 100 years of political cartooning. Many of the cartoons come from the private collection of Arthur J. Wood, which holds more than 36,000 works by 2,800 artists and now resides in the Library of Congress. Visitors also may not know that the three artists who, in recent years, have created Off The Record’s cartoons, are each award-winning powerhouses of creativity. When the hotel requests a set of new designs, Ann, Kal, and Matt will meet, and with an abundance of banter, discuss who to draw, and which of them will do it.






For America’s 250^th Fourth of July at The Hay-Adams, an opportunity for the artists to draw entirely new subjects arose. Instead of depicting the most prominent voices in today’s political world, the storied coasters could feature figures who were integral to the country’s history.

Hotel Manager Colette Marquez tapped Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher and Matt Wuerker to collaborate on this rare set of designs. Upon discussing the concept, the three realized that there are far too many pivotal figures from across the full 250 years of America’s history to choose from. So, they opted instead to focus solely on the Founding Fathers.

The next decision was who, from amongst that group, would be drawn for the special coasters.

"We approached it as if it’s 1776 right now, and asked ourselves, who are the bright stars, and who would most people recognize,” Matt said.

Normally, when they choose from current political figures, the three artists consider who might fall out of favor, or at least out of the public’s focus, sooner rather than later. This might deter their candidacy for coaster glory.

“In this case, that’s not an issue,” Matt said. “The Founding Fathers have been in favor for 250 years.”

The artists have worked together long enough to know who draws which features in a specific way.  As caricaturists, they warm to people with big noses or noticeable hair (or no hair at all). Furthermore, each artist has their own favorite politicians to draw. The artists’ personal preferences often play a role in the choice of coaster assignments.

With the Founding Fathers, though, there is no current portfolio of work from which to discern which artist has the right hand for which person.

Instead, Matt and Kal talked through the Founding Fathers, and scanned a lot of images. They then focused on what caricaturable characteristics might work best for them.

“Ben Franklin has a very cartoonish face and is extreme with his hair and glasses, Alexander Hamilton sort of had boring features, but John Adams had truly comical aspects to his face and hair,” Matt said.

“When drawing Madison, and all of these characters, we were not working off of photographs the individual, but instead, photographs of their portrait paintings,” Kal said. “Upon reviewing the portrait paintings of any one of the Founding Fathers, the range of images was so varied, you’d think you were looking at several different people.”

“Even George Washington, whose face we all know so well from the one-dollar bill, looks quite different in one painting than the next,” Kal added.

“Martha Washington’s bonnet was an interesting challenge,” said Matt. “I found so many variations in the historical references of it, that I had to do a few variations until the lace was just right.”

The two artists worked not only to depict the chosen Founding Fathers, but also to draw them at The Hay-Adams itself. This involved incorporating ways these historical figures might have enjoyed the current hotel and some of its well-known spaces

“Not only did I have to figure out where John Adams would be within the hotel and what he might be doing, but I also had to take Paul Giamatti out of my mind,” said Matt.

“I really like your John Adams,” Kal said. “You’ve given it a full feeling of the man, both recognizable and really playful and funny."

Kal said that he had originally drawn James Madison in front of the hotel, but then realized the designs needed to show someone at Top of the Hay. So, he kept part of the original depiction of Madison, then painted an entirely separate background, and put the original head on it.

With the usual cartoons at Off The Record depicting modern-day personalities, there is no need to include their names. For the Founding Fathers designs in celebration of America’s 250^th Fourth of July at The Hay-Adams, Kal and Matt did add scrolls with their names. The artists joked that their scroll styles differ slightly — one, they joked, is Doric, and the other is Ionic.

The Founding Fathers coasters also include another feature that may catch regulars’ attention: well-known staff members from the hotel are drawn into the background of several of them.

If the Founding Fathers were to somehow materialize at today’s Off The Record, Kal and Matt would welcome the opportunity to share a drink, with coasters included, naturally.

They spoke of George Washington having distilled his own bourbon, and Mount Vernon producing it today; Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson spent enough time in France that they might share wine, champagne, or cognac.

“I’d like to share a drink with Thomas Jefferson,” Kal said. “I’d like to find out for myself who he was and what his take on the world was…then again, I would also like to see if the real Alexander Hamilton can sing.”

The best part of creating the coasters at Off The Record, whether depicting modern-day personalities or these Founding Fathers, is being part of the bar’s spirit of camaraderie.

“We poke fun at both sides of the aisle,” Colette said.

“Off the Record is a special place. It serves the best cocktails in town, for sure, but it's more than that.  It's a place where people get to come together with the spirit of good humor and a sense of civility, in a town that could use more of both,” said Matt.

Kevin Kallaugher (Kal) is the international award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine of London and former cartoonist for The Baltimore Sun. With a prolific career spanning more than four decades, he has published over 11,000 cartoons and 150 magazine covers, and his work has been featured in exhibitions in a dozen countries. He won the Herblock Prize in 2015.

Matt Wuerker has been drawing political cartoons since Jimmy Carter was President. He was part of the team that launched POLITICO and has worked as the staff cartoonist and in-house illustrator ever since. He won the Herblock Prize in 2010 and the Pulitzer Prize in 2012.