Arthur Watts (illustrator and artist)

"For the lawyer and diplomat see Sir Arthur Watts"

Arthur Watts (1883 - 1935) was an illustrator and artist who was killed in an aeroplane crash over the Swiss Alps. His first drawing for Punch, the English humour magazine, was published in 1912 and his work continued to appear regularly until the time of his death. He also did four drawings a week for the Radio Times; illustrated about a dozen books, including "Diary of a Provincial Lady" by E M Delafield; and designed travel posters for the railways and the London Underground. He edited and illustrated "A Painter's Anthology".

Many of Watts' cartoons highlighted the class distinctions that existed in Britain in the nineteen-twenties and thirties. They show an acute observation of differences in accent, vocabulary, dress, drinking habits and even table manners. Some of his sharpest barbs were aimed at the 'modern' art of the period. His contorted figures in paint, plaster and stone are clever caricatures of what he saw around him.

Articles and Essays by Arthur Watts

* "Black and White Drawing - Solving Some of Its Problems."
* "A Three-Legged Cruise" - A four-part article originally published in the August, September, October and November 1913 issues of the Yachting Monthly.
* "The Scented Trawler" - Recounts a brief adventure at sea while on duty with the Auxlilary Patrol during World War One. Originally published in the August, 1917 issue of the Yachting Monthly.

Books Illustrated by Arthur Watts

* "A Painter's Anthology" - Arthur Watts
* "Diary of a Provincial Lady" - E M Delafield
* "The Provincial Lady in London" - E M Delafield
* "The Provincial Lady Goes Further" - E M Delafield
* "Poems of Impudence" - Evoe E V Knox
* "So, This is Science" - H F Ellis
* "The Navy and Defense" - Lord Chatfield (includes a single sketch which Watts provided for an event aboard HMS Repulse at which time he also produced this illustration for Punch)
* "Peeps at Parnasus: A Delicious Survey, Half Parody, Half Caricature, of the Whole Pageant of English Verse-Malicious and Gay." - Olga Katzin
* "The Tragedy of Mr. Punch: A Fantastic Play in Prologue and One Act" - Russell Thorndike and Reinald Arkell
* "The Horoscope. A Biographical Poem in Three Books With an Epilogue." - Horace Horsnell

References

* [http://www.arthurwatts.com/ The Art of Arthur Watts] - an internet site maintained by the family of Arthur Watts.
* [http://www.chrisbeetles.com/pictures/artists/Watts_Arthur/Watts_Arthur.htm Chris Beetles Gallery]
* "The Art of Arthur Watts", Simon Watts (editor), Ottawa: Lee Valley, 2003