SIR JOHN TENNIEL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12853, 29 April 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

SIR JOHN TENNIEL.

A MOTS CARTOONIST. I I".vv lover 11 f i'lini ii. an.! oi line, black- ! ami-white work, will in'i.'i at u'ale Sir .John ! Tennicl on liin reaching the gteat age of eighty-five roars, which lie did on Feliiu.iry 28. After drawing for Punch for half a 1 century, with hardly a week's intermission, Sir John retired in the unobtrusive maimer which is characteristic of the man, and the cartoons have no lunger the familiar monogram " J.T." which week after week appeared on them with a regularity unparalleled in the world of art. It is sixty years since Tenniel's lirst work was published—some excellent drawings to "Undine"'and fifty - four years since his first drawing appeared in Punch. (Since that time his hand was very busy on behalf of Punch, and for the last forty years and more lie hardly ever failed to do the weekly cartoon which is such a. feature of our contemporary. This industry holds a unique record, in the first place because no journal of the same character its Punch has lasted as long; and, secondly, because no artist has maintained, with such rare absences, his place in its pages for so many years. The writer once made a calculationwhich is subject to correction —that i:i thirty-five years Tenuiel was only absent as cartoonist on thirteen occasions. The late Charles Keene tilled the gap two or three times, but not with anything like Tennie'.'s peculiar success; and Mr. Linley Sambourne contributed an excellent cartoon, in which Lord Salisbury and Lord Roseberv figured in the number dated November 3, 189-1. Put. with these few intervals, Tcuniel was responsible for the cartoon year after year, week after week. Someone may askwhen did the artist take a. holiday? Well, he once went with a colleague for about a month's rest to Venice, ami sometimes lie had a little hunting in Leicestershire; butregular holiday he had not. This assiduity and devotion to work had the result of narrowing his interests, and students of his cartoons will understand lie reason why his subjects were restricted to comparatively few themes. SOME OF HIS MOST FAMOUS CARTOONS. Those who attended the delightful exhibition of Sir John- Tcnni<.Ts work at the Fine Art Society's rooms in 1895 had the advantage of seeing some of the most renowned of the artist's contributions to the pages of Punch. One of the best cartoons of his early days was his Waiting for an Answer." which appeared in Punch at a most critical time in the American Civil War. It was b.,sed .upon the. Mason and Slidell incident, which brought Great Britain and the United States very near to war. Of Tenniel's later drawings "The Old Crusaders" is one of the best. In it he depicted the Duke of Argyll and Mr. Gladstone, hand in hand again, and armed for the fray. There was his clever cartoon of the British lion arm-in-arm with the Russian bear, entitled. "All's Well." Several in which Lord Beaconsfield's face was prominent served as admirable foils to the brilliant set of " Gladstones." Who could help being impressed with the bold line-work and excellent condensation of many a subject, which, though restricted to a. page of Punch, told its story or enforced its moral so well? Sometimes Sir John gave full play to his humour, as in the picture of Father William.'' or in the amusing sketch of Lord Salisbury as "The Minstrel Boy." More than once lie used the 'Varsity Boat Race as the suggestion for a political cartoon, and when Blondin's exploits were fresh in the public mind he drew a clever picture of Disraeli walking on the tight-rope. He exercised his love of armour and of classical design again and again effectively, as in the beautiful drawing of Mr. Gladstone Unarming." Till-: MKTHOI) OK HIS WORK. It is said that Tenuiel originated vefy few of the subjects or his famous cartoons. Bui lie had the rare nift of translating ami improving any ideas which his colleagues at the Punch tabic suggested. On Wednesdays the staff met for the consideration of £be next: week's paper. Often it was the late Mr. K. J. Millikin who, after discussion, offered the theme tot Tenniel's cartoon. The notion would be written down on paper, and the artist would carry it 'mine. Over a pipe tie would ruminate, in his studio as to how'the subject should be treated. Ik- war- rllowed slightly longer time for drawing than was permitted to the other artists, and occasionally a change I in public interest would necessitate an alteration of his theme. Usually Tenuiel had his rough outline ready on Thursday, and the draft was completed* on Friday. Che sketch then went to the engraver, who understood the artist's intentions with such insight and sympathy that, the roughest suggestions were interpreted wonderfully well. Tenniel liked to work with a hard lead pencil, one that was capable of producing silvery tones. Occasionally lie would heighten the effect with some red chalk, and these "originals" were very interesting to study. Many of his cartoons were executed in pen-and-ink. some were drawn m line on a wash ground.

Besides his work on Punch Teuniel was for several years an industrious illustrator Who can foyget his remarkably happy Illusrat ions to Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." which bad not a litt'e to do with popularising that classic book'.' hen "Jie volume. with it.s unique whimsicality, was hist published in 1865 it was recognised that in such i'lustration Tenniel was just the best possible artist for association with Lewis Carroll. lie did forty-two pictures for "Alice." and had some amusing stories to tell of the eccentric author, who was very particular that his ideas should be. realised. Twenty of Tennicl's illustrations* were afterwards coloured, and issued in 1871 as "The Nursery Alice." For Lewis Carroll's oequel. "Through the LookingGlass. and What. Alice Found There," Tenniel did fifty sketches with an admirable sense of humour. These "Alice" pictures have delighted tens of thousands of children. and this was always a pleasant thought for the artist. He was much amused once to see a series of tableaux played by children, consisting of scenes from the beloved Alice, and copied as nearly as possible from his own illustrations.