Frank Bellew

Frank Bellew

Frank Henry Temple Bellew (April 18, 1828-June 29, 1888), American artist, illustrator, and cartoonist, and the first person to portray the figure of Uncle Sam.

Personal

Bellew was born in Cawnpore, India, in 1828, the son of a British officer.

Father of Frank P.W. Bellew, who often signed his name "Chip," as in "chip off the old block."

Career

Bellew worked at most of the notable publications of his time, including "Frank Leslie's Illustrated", "Harper's Bazaar", "Harper's Weekly", "Puck", "St. Nicholas", and Scribner's.

Bellew was active in New Orleans, Louisiana circa 1855, but before and after that period spent his career in New York City.

His November 26, 1864, "Harper's Weekly" caricature of Abraham Lincoln, "Long Abraham Lincoln a Little Longer," exaggerating the height and thinness of the president to absurd extremes, was very popular.

Charles Dickens said of Bellew, "Frank Bellew's pencil is extraordinary. He probably originated more, of a purely comic nature, than all the rest of the artistic brethren put together."

Inventor of Uncle Sam

While the name "Uncle Sam" had been used to refer to the United States since the 1810s, Bellew was the first artist to portray him in human form, in the March 13, 1852, issue of the "New York Lantern". ["Time", May 11, 1931.] The cartoon showed John Bull actively involved in assisting his country's shipping industry, while Uncle Sam, conversely, does nothing to help the American shipping industry. [Rovin, Jeff. "The Unbelievable Truth". New York: Signet Books, 1994.]

Friendships

Bellew knew and socialized with Ralph Waldo Emerson [Bellew, Frank. "Recollections of Ralph Waldo Emerson," "The Literary World", July 12, 1884] and Henry David Thoreau [Thoreau, Henry David, edited by F.B. Sanborn. Letter to Thoreau's sister in "The Emerson-Thoreau Correspondence," "The Atlantic Monthly", June, 1892, page 752. Bellew's name is misspelled as "F.A.T. Bellew"] , who visited Bellew at his studio on Broadway in New York City.

Thoreau and Bellew discussed philosophical matters, as Thoreau recorded in his "Journals" on October 19, 1855:

:Talking with Bellew this evening about Fourierism and communities, I said that I suspected any enterprise in which two were engaged together. "But," said he, "it is difficult to make a stick stand unless you slant two or more against it." "Oh, no," answered I, "you may split its lower end into three, or drive it single into the ground, which is the best way; but most men, when they start on a new enterprise, not only figuratively, but really, "pull up stakes". When the sticks prop one another, none, or only one, stands erect."

Bellew knew Thomas Nast from, at the very least, shared visits to Charles Pfaff's beer cellar in lower Manhattan, and found him "amusing." [http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/pfaffs/p82] It's also quite likely the two knew each other because they were two of the most prolific artists creating illustrations for "Harper's Weekly".

Bibliography

*Bellew, Frank. "The Art Of Amusing: A Collection Of Graceful Arts, Games, Tricks, Puzzles, and Charades". New York: G.W. Carleton and Co., 1866.

*Bellew, Frank. "A Bad Boy's First Reader". New York: G.W. Carleton and Co., 1881.

*Bellew, Frank. "Emerson and Walt Whitman," "Lippincott's Magazine", June 24, 1884.

*Bellew, Frank. "Jeff Petticoats". New York: Intagliotype and Graphotype Co., c. 1866.

*Bellew, Frank, ed. "Joe Miller's Jests With Copius Editions". New York: Office of the Northern Magazine, 1865.

*Bellew, Frank. "That Charming Evening: A Volume Intended To Amuse Everybody and Enable All To Amuse Everybody Else: Thus Bringing About As Near an Approximation To the Millennium As Can Be Conveniently Attained In the Compass Of One Small Volume." New York: G.W. Carleton and Co., 1878.

*Bellew, Frank. "That Comic Primer". New York: G.W. Carleton and Co., 1877.

*Bellew, Frank, ed. "The Tramp: His Tricks, Tallies and Tell-tales, With All His Signs, Countersigns, Grips, Pass-words and Villainies Exposed". New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1878.

*Harte, F. Bret. Illustrated by Frank Bellew. "Condensed Novels and Other Papers". New York: G.W. Carleton, 1867. (The first book published by Bret Harte).

*Palmer, John Williamson, M.D., ed. Illustrated by Frank Bellew et al. "Folk Songs". New York: Charles Scribner, 1861.

*Smith, Kristen M., ed. "The Lines Are Drawn: Political Cartoons of the Civil War". Athens, Georgia: Hill Street Press, c. 1999.

References

External links

* [http://lambiek.net/artists/b/bellew_frank.htm Frank Bellew at the cartooning Web site lambiek.net; includes famous November 26, 1864, "Harper's Weekly" cartoon of "Long Lincoln"] .
* [http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/pfaffs/p82 Biography of Bellew on LeHigh University Web site; the information about books illustrated by Bellew is not immediately verifiable and may be incorrect] .
* [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=Bellew%2C%20Frank&s=3&notword=&f=4 Frank Bellew at the New York Public Library Digital Gallery] .
* [http://www.google.com/search?q=site:harpweek.com+%2Bbellew&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N Links to numerous cartoons from "Harper's Weekly" and other publications illustrated at harpweek.com] .
* [http://www.thelincolnmuseum.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TLMS&Product_Code=31726 Long Lincoln notepad and pencil sold by the lincolnmuseum.org] .
* [http://www.pressibus.org/bd/debuts/auteurs/frbellew.html A French Web page about Bellew] .
* [http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/1877/1877-3.html A railroading history page with Bellew's "New York Daily Graphic" cartoon of the American railroading industry as "The American Frankenstein"] .
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html Search for "Bellew" to find original drawings and published illustrations in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog of the Library of Congress] .
* [http://www.coconino-world.com/sites_auteurs/bellew/index.html French Web site reprinting Bellew's "Tobacco and Its Users" from the March, 1860, issue of "Harper's New Monthly Magazine"; click on the illustration and then continue to click on the pop-up image] .
* [http://search.famsf.org:8080/view.shtml?record=28924&=list&=1&=&=And 1877 "Harper's Weekly" cover, "The Situation On the Black Sea," in the collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco] .
* [http://www.cartoonstock.com/vintage/vintage_search.asp?Boolean=Or&Category=Not+Selected&keyword=&x=a&Artist=Bellew%2C+Frank&submit=+Search+ Bellew cartoons] . (Commercial site)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tony Bellew — (born February 24, 1984) is a British professional boxer who won several national titles as an amateur.AmateurFighting out of Liverpool’s Rotunda ABC, Bellew claimed the both the 2002 and 2003 novice ABA title’s by knocking out every man he faced …   Wikipedia

  • Histoire de la bande dessinée — L’histoire de la bande dessinée pour être générale doit au moins être décrite aux regards des trois principaux pôles de la création artistique de la bande dessinée, l’Europe qui a vu sa création, les États Unis à qui nous devons sa popularité et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John McCunn — belonged to a poor Irish immigrant family who arrived in New York in the 1800s. He worked as a dockhand before training as a lawyer, and eventually becoming a judge. He was a member of the infamous Tweed Ring, which he aided by naturalising new… …   Wikipedia

  • Nathan Cleverly — Statistics Real name Nathan Cleverly Rated at Light Heavyweight Height 6&# …   Wikipedia

  • Jack London — Infobox Writer name = Jack London caption = Jack London in 1900 birthdate = Birth date|1876|1|12 birthplace = San Francisco, California United States deathdate = Death date and age|1916|11|22|1876|1|12 deathplace = Glen Ellen, California United… …   Wikipedia

  • Le Calvaire de Mme Mallory — Gloria Swanson Donn …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Lords Commissioners of the Treasury — This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Treasury of Great Britain. Commissioners of the Treasury of Great Britain (1714 1800)Townshend ministry (1714 1715)*October 13, 1714 **Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax (First Lord) **Sir Richard… …   Wikipedia

  • Wahlen zum Repräsentantenhaus der Vereinigten Staaten 2006 — ██ durch die Republikaner behauptet ██ durch die Demokraten behauptet ██ durch die Demokraten von den Republikanern gewonnen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wahl zum Repräsentantenhaus der Vereinigten Staaten 2006 — durch die Republikaner behauptet durch die De …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of First World War Victoria Cross recipients — The following 627 recipients were awarded the Victoria Cross for the First World War (1914–1918). NOTOC A*Harold Ackroyd 1917; Ypres, Belgium *Abraham Acton 1914; Rouges Bancs, France *William Robert Fountains Addison 1916; Sanna i Yat,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”