Saintly

 A St. Trinians piece from an old Chris Beetles catalogue that I don't think I'd ever seen. 

Photo album

More here in Searle: a Photographic Portrait

The Belles of St. Trinian's

  Title sequence for 'The Belles of St. Trinians' (1954) directed by Frank Launder.

Poster Rough

2018 Auctions

 Sold at Bonhams NYC, 5th December

'A series of three original watercolors, "Commercial Christmas," "Office Parties," and "Giftmanship," unused illustrations for the article "Christmas Lifemanship," Holiday Magazine, c.1960, watercolor, India ink and pencil, 253 x 365 mm, each numbered ("1"-"3") and titled by the artist in ink at bottom, some soiling, discolored along edges.

A trio of humorous sketches lampooning holiday etiquette: a secretary presents a toy Santa Claus to her boss in "Commercial Christmas"; a sexy young woman with a much older man "showing that you are in the secret confidence of the managing director"; and another beauty in evening gown pushing her Christmas present for her husband—a gift-wrapped wheelchair—in "Giftmanship. 'Slightly unflattering.'" During his early career, Mr. Knight was enthralled with the Punch cartoons of Searle, particularly the Belle's of St. Trinian's series. "He did these dreadful, vicious little schoolgirls terrifying their teachers," Mr. Knight told The Easthampton Star. "I loved the wicked style, and in the early '50s began doing contemporary drawings along those lines." Eloise in her little uniform owes much to the Englishman's pint-sized anarchists.'

-Bonhams (original page here)

Ronald Searle 1920-2011: 'Oil Leak',

signed, cartoon in pen and ink on board, with dedication "David, Don't look at this with a professional eye! This is just a souvenir of the Monte Carlo jaunt - with best wishes from Ronald 1968', 36 x 47cm, in card mounted display with copies of Searle's artwork designs for the titles of 'Those Daring Young Men in the Jaunty Jalopies' (working title) and scanned images of David Watson clowning with Dudley Moore and some of the film crew.  

FOOTNOTES

• From the collection of the late David John Peter Watson, equity card carrying professional driver. Watson acted as technical adviser and performed some of the driving stunts on the film, doubling for the likes of Tony Curtis, Terry Thomas and even Mireille Darc. The film was released as Monte-Carlo or Bust! in the UK in 1969 and as Those Daring Young Men in the Jaunty Jalopies in the USA.

Sold at Sotheby's July 10th 2018

 Sold June 28th, UK

Sold June 2, NY

Sold March 6th, UK

A magazine cover design for the winter number of ‘Town & Country’ in 1948 by Ronald Searle

Tapestry

Here's a great feature on Searle from The Sketch magazine 1949. Alongside the St.Trinians drawings the article portrays the artist and his family. His first wife Kaye Webb and their (non-identical) twin children Kate and John in the bath!

That's a good shot of Ronald in front of a tapestry made in his style. I've see that in other photos and assumed it was from his design. This confirms it.  The picture's caption hints at the artist's true passion 'Like many other successful humorists, he is really more keen on serious work.' He would kill off his famous creations only a few years after this and pursue acceptance by the fine art world with a move to Paris in the early 1960s.

These early pictures seem to show the original design on paper. By the time the Searles moved to their modern, Denys Lasdun-designed, house at 32 Newton Rd. a woven tapestry was hanging on the wall. As you can see in the photos below it was part of an eclectic collection of artifacts that Ronald gathered including the Benin Bronze that he later sold.

I believe the tapestry was woven at the Edinburgh Tapestry Co. under the supervision of Ronald Cruickshank. (Artistic Director of the Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, woven at The Golden Targe Tapestry Studio, Chester Street, Edinburgh).

(Thanks to Merfyn Jones for the magazine article scan)

Flu season!

A Get Well card by Searle should cheer you up!

 

You might even use a St Trinians hankerchief designed by Searle in 1954

The Penguin Ronald Searle

Searle had a long-standing association with UK publishers Penguin Books. They commissioned him to illustrate a collection of paperback editions (some of which he had illustrated the hardback editions-see Book Covers section).

'The Painted Veil' looks like a re-use of a portrait of W. Somerset Maugham originally published in Punch magazine.

The next one was also published in Radio Times illustrating Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'

Of course Penguin also reprinted the essential collections of Searle's cartoons and St Trinians

Also a fine collection not published in the USA (reprinting some images made for American periodical Holiday magazine)

Searle finalized the 'penguin self-portrait' gag as a Searle-mask wearing bird!

(Thanks to Stephen Nadler for the above image)

Penguin also published the Molesworth books and Refugees