--- description: Hunter S. Thompson's right-hand man also identifies his worst ever work title: The Completely Adorable Ralph Steadman talks Adorably about his Odd Drawings image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f0a6174c0ac8532/69868d983bc99900da1a344b/ralph-steadman.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ralph Steadman Talks About His Seven Most Memorable Drawings  by [Belinda Luscombe](/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large May 2, 2014 3:00 PM CUT   by [Belinda Luscombe](/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large May 2, 2014 3:00 PM CUT Ralph Steadman, whose macabre and frenetic drawings have illustrated everything from _Rolling Stone_ to children’s books, is the subject of the new documentary [_For No Good Reason_](http://time.com/73824/review-johnny-depp-cozies-up-to-artist-ralph-steadman-for-no-good-reason/ "undefined"). Still witty (and frankly, kind of adorable) at 77, the artist came to TIME to talk about the film — and the drawings that have meant the most to him. While Steadman is known for his playfulness, he often draws as a way of delivering a stinging social critique. He got his big break when he covered the Kentucky Derby with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson: “My job was to be there and provoke,” he says. “We were looking for the ugly side of Kentucky Hunter said he remembered from his childhood.” Many of his other pictures are critical of Western incursions into other countries, and he has a distinctly anti-authoritarian streak that he says is the result of a cruel headmaster at his school. The documentary, which is in theaters now, indicates that Thompson and Steadman didn’t always get along; there are several instances when a clearly exasperated Steadman has to turn off the camera as their conversation spirals downwards. But he’s obviously drawn to quirky characters, and vice versa: the person asking Steadman most of the questions in _For No Good Reason_ is his old friend Johnny Depp. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/84778/ralph-steadman-talks-about-his-seven-most-memorable-drawings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/84778/ralph-steadman-talks-about-his-seven-most-memorable-drawings/"},"headline":"Ralph Steadman Talks About His Seven Most Memorable Drawings","datePublished":"2014-05-02T15:00:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:36:41.992Z","description":"Hunter S. Thompson's right-hand man also identifies his worst ever work","url":"https://time.com/84778/ralph-steadman-talks-about-his-seven-most-memorable-drawings/","keywords":["birds","Johnny Depp","artist"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f0a6174c0ac8532/69868d983bc99900da1a344b/ralph-steadman.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Belinda Luscombe","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f0a6174c0ac8532/69868d983bc99900da1a344b/ralph-steadman.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ralph Steadman","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/84778/ralph-steadman-talks-about-his-seven-most-memorable-drawings/","name":"Ralph Steadman Talks About His Seven Most Memorable Drawings"}}]}] ```