Obsessed with Drawing

Opening next week in Cambridge, England -TWO exhibitions on Ronald Searle. One at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the other at Anglia Ruskin art school, Searle's alma mater. Press release here

The catalogue is available from the museum's website here

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

Suzanne Morris on Twitter

The following pics are from the Instagram account of illustrator David Hughes

Photo gallery here

News Chronicle

'News Chronicle' featured a full page of Searle cartoons every week during the early fifties. He lampooned British life; humorous takes on everyday situations, events in and around London, art exhibitions and made portraits of notable people of the era and also people 'on the street'.

'HRH the Queen returns from a voyage'

'News Chronicle Saturday: issue Sept 19th

An original illustration for Merry England, etc., Perpetua Books, London, 1956, pp.3,7 and 82

An original illustration for News Chronicle, London, Issue 9, October 1954

Man's best friend "Dog racing/results up yet?/... and don't point/-its rude."

'Tulip Time'

An Illustration for the The News Chronicle, London, 22 May 1954 and Merry England, Etc. Perpetua Books, London 1956, pp. 12, 13 & 14

An original illustration for News Chronicle, 23 August 1954.

Holidays: Home from home: 'The Guest Book'

An original illustration for News Chronicle, London, 19 June 1954.

'Battersea fun fair'

'Burlington House' December 1953 The Royal Academy. Searle recycled the gag above with an object falling out of a painted canvas several times over his career. It deserves a post of its own.

'Summer' June 1954

'Sculpture Exhibition in Holland Park'  

News Chronicle: Saturday Sketch Book, London, 29 May 1954. 

In these sketches for the above that Searle probably made on site we see the artist searching for the 'gag'.

 

'Antique Dealer's Fair' 

News Chronicle, Saturday Sketchbook, 12 June 1954. 

Searle also made portraits of London's citizens, known and unknown,  for the newspaper. They would later be collected in 'Looking at London and People Worth Meeting (1953).
 

 

 'Portrait of Ian MacKay'; pen and brown ink, signed, dated 1952, bears inscription on the mount News Chronicle Searle WSS Feature

Roland Emett at the Festival of Britain News Chronicle, published, London, 12 June 1952 

'People Worth Meeting'.

Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens

News Chronicle, London Issue, 30 October 1952.

'Portobello Rd. Market'

(Many of the images here are courtesy of the Chris Beetles Gallery, London)