Leonard Raven-Hill
English painter (1867–1942)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leonard Raven-Hill (10 March 1867 – 31 March 1942) was an English artist, illustrator and cartoonist.[1]
| Leonard Raven-Hill | |
|---|---|
Leonard Raven-Hill by Maurice Greiffenhagen. | |
| Born | 10 March 1867 |
| Died | 31 March 1942 (aged 75) Ryde, Isle of Wight, England |
| Area | Political cartoon |
Life
He was born in Bath[2] and educated at Bristol Grammar School and the Devon County School. He studied art at the Lambeth School of Art and then in Paris under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Aimé Morot. He began to exhibit at the Salon in 1887[1] but moved back to London when he was appointed as the art editor of Pick-Me-Up.[2] He also continued to work as a painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1889. In 1893 he founded, with Arnold Golsworthy, the humorous and artistic monthly The Butterfly (1893–94, revived in 1899–1900)[1] but began his most prominent association with a publication when his drawings appeared in Punch in December 1895.[2] By 1901 he had joined the staff of Punch as the junior political cartoonist under Bernard Partridge.[3]
Unlike most of the cartoonists at Punch, he was fairly sympathetic to liberal causes such as women's suffrage, Old Age Pensions Act 1908 and National Insurance Act 1911.[3]
He contributed to many other illustrated magazines including The Daily Graphic, Daily Chronicle, The Strand Magazine, The Sketch, Pall Mall Gazette and Windsor Magazine. He also illustrated a number of books including
- East London by Sir Walter Besant (1901)
- Cornish Saints and Sinners by J. H. Harris
- Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
- Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling
- Kipps by H. G. Wells
Raven-Hill published the impressions of his visit to India on the occasion of the tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales as An Indian Sketch-Book (1903) and his other published sketch-books include Our Battalion (1902) and The Promenaders (1894).[1]
He was married twice, to Annie Rogers and Marion Jean Lyon; both predeceased him.[4] His first marriage resulted in four children, two daughters and two sons.[5]
In his later years his eyesight began to fail. Raven-Hill died on 31 March 1942 at Ryde on the Isle of Wight,[2][3] and was buried with his first wife at the churchyard of St Helen's Church, St Helens, Isle of Wight.[6]
His obituary in the New York Times describes him as the "last great Victorian artist", and states he was known for "his sense of character and humor and sound draftsmanship".[4]
Gallery
A Punch cartoon of October 2, 1912 depicting Britain, France, German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russian Empire sitting on a lid on top of a pot marked "Balkan Troubles", satirizing the situation in the Balkans leading up to the First Balkan War
The Gap in the Bridge: Cartoon about the absence of the USA from the League of Nations, depicted as the missing keystone of the arch. The cigar also symbolizes America (Uncle Sam) enjoying its wealth.
