George Morrow (illustrator)
Encyclopedia
George Morrow was a cartoonist and book illustrator. He was the son of a painter and decorator from Clifton Street in west Belfast. Of his seven brothers, four, Albert
(1863–1927), Jack
(1872–1926), Edwin (1877–1952) and Norman (1879–1917), were also illustrators and cartoonists.
Educated at the Model School and the Government School of Art, he was apprenticed as a signwriter. He contributed to an exhibition by the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club in 1888, and later studied in Paris. In the mid to late 1890s he lived in Chelsea, London
, where he made the acquaintance of Mark Twain
. In 1896 he contributed illustrations to Pick-Me-Up and Mary Russell Mitford
's County Stories.
He contributed to Ulad, a magazine associated with the Ulster Literary Theatre, in 1905. In 1906 he sat on the committee of the first Oireachtas Art Exhibition with Jack Butler Yeats
and Sarah Purser
, contributed cartoons to The Shanachie and Bulmer Hobson
's separatist magazine The Republic, and began his long association with Punch
. Over the years he contributed 2,704 cartoons, including 22 full-page political cartoons. He joined the staff of the magazine in 1924, and was art editor from 1932 to 1937. For many years, Morrow produced "Royal Academy Depressions", a series of comic parodies of Royal Academy pictures. Other publications he contributed to included the Bystander, The Pall Mall Magazine
, Sphere, Strand Magazine
, Tatler
and Windsor Magazine
.
Several collections of his cartoons were published. An Alphabet of the War (1915) reprinted cartoons from Punch Almanack. George Morrow: His Book (1920), More Morrow (1921) and Some More (1928) followed. He also illustrated more than 70 books by other authors for adults and children, and created the satirical pictorial novel What a Life!
with E. V. Lucas
.
He lived most of his adult life in England, although he spent many summers painting watercolours in Ireland, particularly in County Donegal. Married with no children, he died at his home in Thaxted, Essex, about a month after his last cartoon appeared in Punch.
Albert Morrow
Albert George Morrow was an illustrator, poster designer and cartoonist. He was the son of a painter and decorator from Clifton Street, west Belfast...
(1863–1927), Jack
Jack Morrow
John Cassell Morrow was a political cartoonist, illustrator and landscape painter. He was the son of a painter and decorator from Clifton Street, west Belfast...
(1872–1926), Edwin (1877–1952) and Norman (1879–1917), were also illustrators and cartoonists.
Educated at the Model School and the Government School of Art, he was apprenticed as a signwriter. He contributed to an exhibition by the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club in 1888, and later studied in Paris. In the mid to late 1890s he lived in Chelsea, London
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, where he made the acquaintance of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
. In 1896 he contributed illustrations to Pick-Me-Up and Mary Russell Mitford
Mary Russell Mitford
Mary Russell Mitford , was an English author and dramatist. She was born at Alresford, Hampshire. Her place in English literature is as the author of Our Village...
's County Stories.
He contributed to Ulad, a magazine associated with the Ulster Literary Theatre, in 1905. In 1906 he sat on the committee of the first Oireachtas Art Exhibition with Jack Butler Yeats
Jack Butler Yeats
John "Jack" Butler Yeats was an Irish artist. His early style was that of an illustrator; he only began to work regularly in oils in 1906. His early pictures are simple lyrical depictions of landscapes and figures, predominantly from the west of Ireland—especially of his boyhood home of...
and Sarah Purser
Sarah Purser
-Early life:She was born in Kingstown in County Dublin, and raised in Dungarvan, County Waterford. She was educated in Switzerland and afterwards studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and in Paris at the Académie Julian.-Artist:...
, contributed cartoons to The Shanachie and Bulmer Hobson
Bulmer Hobson
John Bulmer Hobson was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood before the Easter Rising in 1916...
's separatist magazine The Republic, and began his long association with Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
. Over the years he contributed 2,704 cartoons, including 22 full-page political cartoons. He joined the staff of the magazine in 1924, and was art editor from 1932 to 1937. For many years, Morrow produced "Royal Academy Depressions", a series of comic parodies of Royal Academy pictures. Other publications he contributed to included the Bystander, The Pall Mall Magazine
The Pall Mall Magazine
The Pall Mall Magazine was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Started by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of the Pall Mall Gazette, the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, and general commentaries, along with extensive artwork...
, Sphere, Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
and Windsor Magazine
Windsor Magazine
The Windsor Magazine was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 .The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women"....
.
Several collections of his cartoons were published. An Alphabet of the War (1915) reprinted cartoons from Punch Almanack. George Morrow: His Book (1920), More Morrow (1921) and Some More (1928) followed. He also illustrated more than 70 books by other authors for adults and children, and created the satirical pictorial novel What a Life!
What a Life! (novel)
What A Life! is a work of satirical fiction by Edward Verrall Lucas and George Morrow published in 1911. The book is best known for its inventive narrative technique: the story takes the reader through the life of an upper-class British gentleman, with the plot being dictated by the book's...
with E. V. Lucas
E. V. Lucas
Edward Verrall Lucas was a versatile and popular English writer. His nearly 100 books demonstrate great facility with style, and are generally acknowledged as humorous by contemporary readers and critics. Some of his essays about the sport cricket are still considered among the best instructional...
.
He lived most of his adult life in England, although he spent many summers painting watercolours in Ireland, particularly in County Donegal. Married with no children, he died at his home in Thaxted, Essex, about a month after his last cartoon appeared in Punch.
Partial bibliography
- Change for a Halfpenny (1905) (online version)
- What a Life!What a Life! (novel)What A Life! is a work of satirical fiction by Edward Verrall Lucas and George Morrow published in 1911. The book is best known for its inventive narrative technique: the story takes the reader through the life of an upper-class British gentleman, with the plot being dictated by the book's...
(1911, with E. V. Lucas) - The House of the Ogress (1921), by W. E. CuleW. E. CuleWilliam Edward Cule was a British author of children's books and several books for adults on Christian themes. In all, he wrote some thirty books encompassing a number of popular genres - public school stories, adventure yarns, fairy tales, novels and Christian allegories and fable...
- Elnovia (1925)
- Cinderella's Garden (1927)
- Chuckles (1927)
- The Marvellous Land of SnergsThe Marvellous Land of SnergsThe Marvellous Land of Snergs is a children's fantasy, written by Edward Wyke Smith and published in 1927. It was illustrated by the Punch cartoonist George Morrow. It is noted as an inspiration source for Tolkien's The Hobbit.-Plot summary:...
(1927) - Simple People (1928), by Archibald MarshallArchibald MarshallArthur Hammond Marshall , better known by his pen name Archibald Marshall, was an English author, publisher and journalist whose novels were particularly popular in the United States. He published over 50 books and was recognized as a realist in his writing style, and was considered by some as a...
- Here Be Dragons (1930)
- Light Articles Only (1939), by A. P. HerbertA. P. HerbertSir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH was an English humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist...
- The Birdikin Family (1932), by Archibald MarshallArchibald MarshallArthur Hammond Marshall , better known by his pen name Archibald Marshall, was an English author, publisher and journalist whose novels were particularly popular in the United States. He published over 50 books and was recognized as a realist in his writing style, and was considered by some as a...
External links
- Morrow cartoons at punchcartoons.com (store).
- George Morrow at the Irish Comics Wiki