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Obsessed with Drawing

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Opening next week in Cambridge, England. Wish I could make it. Press release here


















Ephemera from Ronald's studio will be on display at the second exhibition at his old art school Anglia Ruskin . . .








Lord Mayor's Show

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Twitter turned up a great find: Searle's design for a Sadler's Wells float as part of the 1967 Lord Mayor's Show. Twitter user @dominic_reid posted the design (click to enlarge) and the video below where we can see the finished design in colour.




Searle in Cambridge

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 I realized the Searle exhibition at the Fitzwilliam had published a catalogue and swiftly put in an order which arrived this week. It's a slim but important volume with revealing text from those involved with curating the show and its complimentary exhibition at the Anglia Ruskin art school, Searle's alma mater. There are words from Ronald's Literary Agent Rachel Calder delightfully describing visits to the Searles. Also Professor of illustration at Anglia Ruskin Martin Salisbury  and Jane Munro Keeper Paintings, Drawings and Prints at the Fitzwilliam, and an introduction by Quentin Blake.
The catalogue contains several photographs from Searle's personal collection revealing his day to day concerns and disciplined work ethic. You can order from the museum online store here

Punch

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Searle functioned in various capacities for Punch magazine throughout the 50s. I've posted his theatre caricatures, Searle's Eye View, political page and cover art. He also made cartoon spot illustrations for humorous stories and more realistic illustrations for reports.


Punch January 28, 1959






'Tails Optional' by Eric Keown May 20, 1959

'Tails Optional' by Eric Keown May 20, 1959


Oct 16, 1957
A sensational drawing marking a visit to the U.S. by Queen Elizabeth II
(original exhibited at the London Cartoon Museum 2010)




November 5, 1951


May 2, 1956



Ronald Searle's America *UPDATE*

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My book on Searle's American era work is printed and looks fantastic.  It would never have happened without the team at Fantagraphics. Head honcho Gary Groth believing in the project, Kristy Valenti getting my text to make sense and designer Keeli McCarthy who made my flimsy 500 image rough layout look like a real book!
You can pre-order it at Fantagraphics' site here and it ships January 11th


Book signing!

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I'll be at the Center Stage Gallery in Burbank the afternoon of February 6th with a presentation on Searle then I'll be signing copies. We'll have 40 copies of the book at a 10% discount off the rrp and a free limited edition print. RSVP link here





 






Florida

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Searle was so prolific I've found there's always more work to discover. In the book I have two finished versions of a drawing of a 'Miami couple' (Holiday magazine, December 1963). Recently on eBay a sketchbook page cropped up with studies on both sides where Searle seems to have experimented with both angles.










Many of the drawings from the Holiday magazine spread were republished in the book collection 'From Frozen North to Filthy Lucre'(1964).

Fake!

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Another poorly executed Searle fake hits the art market, this time being sold through Christie's. Check out the lot here



More on fake Searle artwork here and here

Sketch magazine

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Early examples of Searle's colour work are a treat. There aren't too many examples but they crop up occasionally like this one on Flickr.  For the article ‘Christmas at Longleat - 70 years ago’ by the Marchioness of Bath. From The Sketch Christmas Number, 1951.

Ronald Searle's America

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'The quality of the entire book is remarkably impressive, from the editorial selections to the printing. It's a wonderful and inspiring tribute to Searle that I'll be returning to often.'

-Amid Amidi, editor Cartoon Brew

'Just got my copy of Matt Jones' Ronald Searle tribute book and I'll agree with everyone else who has  seen it. It's really fantastic. It's huge, too! A great coffee table book with sketches and finals for those who love to study him. It's a collection of his impressions of America, most done for British magazines. Wouldn't be surprised if it leads to a Searle resurgence, and maybe another book, because the previous 'Art of...' book from the 80s is not very impressive. Buy it!' - Kevin O'Brien, Pixar

 'One of my favorite collections of Searle...ever! Congrats, Matt Jones, and Fantagraphics ( and the esteemed Ronald Searle) on an absolutely stellar book!' - John Musker, director Disney's 'Moana'

' The book is really fantastic . . . And it’s so huge: I have to extend the height of my shelves to fit the book in … I know what I will read and study the next days and I am sure that it will help me with my own archive work.' - Elisabeth Reich, Ronald Searle Archive, Hanover

'This Ronald Searle book is astounding. Each page is a breathtaking art lesson & joy. Bravo!' 
- Mo Willems, childrens' book illustrator & author

'It’s Christmas early!!! 'Ronald Searle's America' is AMAZING.' 
 - Pete Docter, director of Pixar's 'Inside Out'

'Ronald Searle's America should become THE reference book for any Searle fan and/or illustrator.' 
 - Uli Meyer, animation artist and Searle collector

'Got ours and it is fabulous!!!'  - Susan Goldberg, ex Disney artist

'Just got my advance copy of your book and am stunned by its beauty and content.  What an amazing publication. All that hard work and persistence sure resulted in something extraordinary.' 
- Howard Green, Disney Publishing

'I honestly can't get enough of this. Ronald Searle's America is an amazing collection of the artist's work from his time in the States. If you're a fan of him or of drawing at all, you should check it out. Thanks Matt Jones for putting together this treat!' - Avner Geller, character designer, Dreamworks Animation

'Just received Ronald Searle's America. It's a beautiful book. I'll be buried in it for months to come. Thank you!' -Oliver Maltman, writer & actor 


'RONALD SEARLE'S AMERICA IS FINALLY HERE! Matt Jones’ new book on the seminal cartoonist exceeds expectations. Enormous and overflowing with masterful works by the great Searle, this book is gorgeous. Smartly curated, it's also a wonderful time-capsule: America through the astute, inventive and hilarious illustrations of a rarely-gifted observer. Searle, from the UK, is in peak form as he takes us on a tour of our United States.
Permit me a really envious aside: I'm astonished that this magnificent tome represents only a sliver of Searle’s unparalleled career, as any artist would be delirious with joy if by the end of their life they had produced the contents of this book alone. (...and a really true aside: All the flowery words are not only deserved, they're guaranteed!) Matt Jones has lovingly (and obsessively) created a worthy monument to the remarkably influential father of three generations of cartoonists. And counting.'

Nick Galifianakis , cartoonist  Washington Post

'This book is incredible. I bought it on pre-order because the deal was great - but this book is well worth the 85 dollars listing price. It is GORGEOUS. Both the quality of the printing and the size/weight of the pages is great. But of course MOST importantly - this book is chock-full of beautiful illustrations. Ronald Searle was a wonderfully prolific and hugely inspirational artist, and this book showcases his work beautifully. I suspect I'll be taking this one off the shelf quite often.' 
- Amazon reader review

'Searle book is fabulous.  Great job!!!!!!'
-Ralph Eggleston, Pixar Production Designer

'The book is so damn good!!Thank you for putting it together.'
-Jesse Aclin, Feature Animation character designer

Molesworth on the radio, chiz, chiz!

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I'm informed that there will be a programme on BBC Radio 4 about Molesworth on 28th March.
The programme is called 'Down With Skool: The Art of Molesworth . . . Philip Hensher explores the art of Molesworth with contributions from Mike Leigh, Gerald Scarfe, Wendy Cope and Posy Simmonds'.

A programme broadcast in 2004 had the following synopsis:

'Nigel Molesworth, the blackly comic anti-hero who influenced a generation with his anarchic take on life, featuring contributions from some of his fondest fans. “I couldn’t live with someone who didn’t enjoy the Molesworth books,” says poet Wendy Cope, whose strong loyalty is shared by fans such as John Walsh, Sir Tim Rice and Russell Davies. “Molesworth had a fantastic influence on me,” says Walsh. “He’s more than a comic character, he’s a classic post-war meritocrat and a wonderful role model.” 

The world first met the surly, ink-splattered schoolboy – created by writer Geoffrey Willans and illustrator Ronald Searle – 50 years ago. Down With Skool, published in 1953, is a wonderful parody of the ghastliness of public school life.The following year, How To Be Topp continued Nigel Molesworth’s fantastically misspelled and world-weary account of life at St Custard’s. His mangling of the English and Latin languages, and his detestation of swots and those who are good at games, gave the world a cache of unforgettable images and catchphrases. 

But there’s more to Molesworth than brilliant comic observation; his jaded view, argues Sir Tim Rice, also offer valuable lessons for life as well as laughter. As the St Custard’s soccer team lose game after game to Porridge Court, Molesworth offers these pearls of wisdom: “It is a funy thing tho, your side always gets beaten whichever skool you are at. That is like life i suppose.” 

There are also insights into the black humour of the books from Searle’s biographer Russell Davies, and tantalising glimpses into Willans’s early life. Listeners also learn that Searle created his grim scenes of school life less than 10 years after returning from a period of slave labour as a Japanese prisoner of war on the Burma-Siam railway, while Willans survived war service on the Atlantic convoys, only to die young before the last of the Molesworth books hit the presses.'


Speaking of Molesworth here's an homage from 2005 . . . 


6 drawing lessons from Ronald Searle

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Top animation news site Cartoon Brew ran an article I wrote on drawing lessons learnt from the master and his work. Read it here


Morroco

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Searle first visited Morocco in March 1951 and a handful of the sketches he made were published in the broadsheet News Chronicle March 28th. I believe he was traveling with his first wife Kaye Webb and it is probably she who penned the accompanying dispatch (as she did for their reports on London for the same publication).












'We saw our first  yashmak in Tangier; the international port where taxes are low and a ten-roomed house sells for 15,000 pounds.
The Arab shop in the souk (bazaar) burst with Swiss watches, French perfume and American shirts, nylons, watches and fountain pens. Great Britain is represented by chocolate and sewing machines.
In Tangiers' market place, the country-women from the Spanish zone, their babies tied to their backs underneath shapeless white haiks, sell flowers, vegetables, much-handled bread and sweetmeats. The men, bearded and turbaned, gather entranced as children round the story-tellers on the square.
The narrow streets are bursting with boot-blacks, vendors, begging children, pickpockets and donkeys so loaded that we cram into noisome doorways to let them go past. . .

'In Fez the Arabs retain their dignity and their privacy in their thousand-year old walled city. Tourists gape at the wonderful golden marriage belts, the elaborately ugly copper bowls, the tooled leather blotters and admire the pretty, friendly children. They have no way of guessing that they are ridden with tuberculosis. . .




In Marrakesh, El Giaoui's country, the people are gayer, lazier, more corrupt. The white clothes are replaced by brilliant jellabahs. There are more bicycles than donkeys and the famous Place Djemaa el Fna is teeming with snake charmers, musicians, dancers and storytellers from breakfast time until nearly midnight. At sunset their their noise reaches a crescendo and drowns the voice calling the faithful to prayer from the nearby mosque - and we never saw any of the audience turn towards Mecca.'

In 1965 Searle returned for a reportage assignment to capture in drawings Casablanca for HOLIDAY magazine. The format allowed him to use colour and a couple of the pictures he made even drop his trademark linework in favour of impressionistic swatches of colour. These pictures are among my favourite of Searle's ouvre. We can see how is style has developed over the intervening 14 years.
On one visit to Searle's studio he permitted me to photograph the original sketchbook he kept on the '65 trip to Morocco and I present them here with the corresponding finished pictures (which were not all published by Holiday).
























Sources: 
Wilhelm Busch - Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst
Holiday Magazine, 
Uli Meyer, 
 British Library, 
News Chronicle
Ronald Searle

'Ronald Searle's America' Book Reviews

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Thanks to those who have left comments and reviews on both the US and UK Amazon sites- it helps promote the book and support the case for another. You can purchase it at the link on the right or if you've bought it please do consider leaving a review too.







'This is a stunning book, clearly a labour of love. The US-based author, Matt Jones, maintains a consistently interesting Ronald Searle blog. Here he has gathered an astonishing range of Searle's art into a really impressive package. It's beautifully printed and for the most part lets the artist's work do the talking. One reason that it does this so well is that it's BIG! More than 360 whopping pages, with plenty of room to let the drawings breathe. In the UK we usually see Searle associated with St Trinian's, Nigel Molesworth and various wine-drinking felines (and nothing wrong with that per se) but it's refreshing to be led off in a different direction for a change. A real treat, and well worth the price-tag.' -S. J. Carter

'This great thumping book is an embarrassment of riches! Every page (and there are 350+ of them) dazzles with the genius of Ronald Searle. British fans shouldn't be put off by the American slant. Quite the opposite, in fact, as there'll be loads you haven't seen before, and boy, are you in for a treat! You can lose yourself for hours in the quality of Searle's line (sometimes softened with a subtle wash) and the skill of his composition and the sheer beauty of his draughtsmanship. From the quickest sketchbook thumbnail to the most detailed architectural study serving as a backdrop for some supremely observed character, there seems nothing this man couldn't do. His terrific humour, coupled with an ability to draw like an Old Master, make him, for my money, the most brilliant cartoonist of the last century. This book (which is well-bound, with high production values, by the way) is crammed with examples of his unique talent and we should be grateful to the editor, Matt Jones, for assembling it all for our delight and amazement.'- Colin West

'This book is incredible. I bought it on pre-order because the deal was great - but this book is well worth the 85 dollars listing price. It is GORGEOUS. Both the quality of the printing and the size/weight of the pages is great. But of course MOST importantly - this book is chock-full of beautiful illustrations. Ronald Searle was a wonderfully prolific and hugely inspirational artist, and this book showcases his work beautifully. I suspect I'll be taking this one off the shelf quite often.' - Amazon customer


Whizz for Atomms


Le Figaro

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As Searle began to branch out into editorial and illustration assignments on the Continent during the 1950s he did several cartoons for French newspaper Le Figaro Littéraire.




Perdu dans le Labyrinthe Londonien, pen and ink, 12 x 13.5", Figaro, 18 February, 1955


Vroomp!!! Crrakk!! Zok!!! (1966)
Pen and wash, 35.2 x 49.1 Collection Monica Searle
Le Figaro Littéraire, October 20, 1966


The Square Egg & The Vicious Circle (1968), Page 15
Ronald Searle (1973) Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, Catalogue number 153
Searle & Searle (2001), Catalogue number 16, page 39

 From Stephen Nadler's  'Attempted Bloggery'site



Also:

FIGARO LITTERAIRE (LE) N° 1072 DU 03/11/1966 - LES ALLEMANDS VUS PAR RONALD SEARLE ET HEINZ HUBER 






Ici Londres N°368 25 Fevrier 1955 - Ronald Searle Maître De L'humour Noir -




ECHO REVUE INTERNATIONALE N° 26 DU 01/10/1948 - RONALD SEARLE



 LIBERATION N° 6055 DU 03/11/2000 -RONALD SEARLE CROQUE LA VIE.




Stop, Magazine Arristique et Littéraire N° 72 - Ronald Searle - la Blonde du Texas - Barbarella - la Femme Modele

Ronald Searle and The Great Fur Opera!

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Monday May 2nd 2016 HBC is celebrating its 346th anniversary! See my old post on the amazing book he did for their 300th published in 1970 here


Eichmann

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In 1961 Searle was sent on an assignment for Life magazine to cover the trial of Gestapo chief Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Searle was the sole draughtsman among a throng of photographers which is exactly why the magazine wanted his unique perspective. He struggled with the impassive features of the accused, making many sketches, and eventually moving on to the judges and court staff for contextual supporting portraits. However the magazine only used three of the drawings in the final spread.



In a letter signed to his secretary Jean Ellsmore he relates his impression of Adolf Eichmann, "... a pretty cool customer - barely moves an eyebrow in hours. I'm sitting about 10 feet from him all the time - so somehow I should get a likeness!". The modern part of Jerusalem he describes as being "like a slightly oriental Notting Hill Gate." -Jerusalem, Israel, Friday, 14th April, [1961]


Digging through the LIFE Photo Archive I found this image of the journalists assembled at the trial. I believe I identified Searle amongst those gathered which he verified with me when shown the photo.


In correspondence with American artist Ruth Cyril he revealed his true feelings about this assignment:
'The trial - listening to those unspeakable stories for almost a month was alternately unutterably dull and unbearably harrowing. It plunged me into such gloom that O couldn't start on the work for ten days. I simply left the court at the end of each day, ate my Kosher omelette (or what ever the hell it what it was) and crept into bed at 9.0pm wishing myself the hell out of it.'























See more of Searle's court drawing assignments here

Misc. America

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Here's one I didn't get in the book . . .

Bea Arthur as Maude' for TV Guide magazine


Drawing from the series 'Who Killed Hollywood Society?' for TV Guide

I tracked this down at the 11th hour but not the original drawing . . .


Mark Twain for HOLIDAY magazine



'Fremont Street, Las Vegas' is one of hundreds of images in the book. The Neon Museum shared this photo of a similar view from the same year Searle made his drawing (1960) - he may well have sat in the restaurant on the right of the photo to make his field notes.

 The original artwork for the British ed. of 'USA for Beginners' sold at auction recently. It's a beautiful iconic drawing - I don't know who bought it. This spectacular original Searle drawing sold at auction for a high $6250. 'Six Shooter' was originally published in Punch magazine and used as the cover for 'USA For Beginners' (Perpetua, 1959). The cowboy's face is very much like that of Mr. Punch the magazine's mascot and may have started out as a rejected cover design.

A remarkable series of love letters between Searle and American artist Ruth Cyril have appeared on eBay. They are very private and should be in the Searle archive in Hannover but they do offer a perspective on Searle's assignments in America tat I wish I had for the book. There's a more personal angle on the JFK/Nixon campaign tour and some frank thoughts on the Eichmann trial Searle attended in Jerusalem (see previous post on 'Eichmann').




For more on America see also 'FLORIDA'

Singapore exhibition

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An exhibition of Ronald Searle's work surrounding his time in Singapore will be held at the Singapore School of Art & Design, opening June 26th.

More details here


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