Phil May

Phil May (22 April 1864 – 5 August 1903) was an English caricaturist.

Philip William May was born at Wortley, near Leeds, the son of an engineer. His father died when the child was nine years old. His mother was the daughter of Eugene Macarthy, one time manager of Drury Lane Theatre. She was left in very poor circumstances and the family had a great struggle to exist. His grandfather, a country gentleman, had some talent as a draughtsman and liked making caricatures. At twelve, Phil May had begun to earn his living in a solicitor's office; before he was fifteen he had acted as time-keeper at a foundry, had tried to become a jockey and had been on the stage at Scarborough and Leeds. He was fond of drawing and when only 14 years old had drawings accepted for the "Yorkshire Gossip". When he was about seventeen he went to London with a sovereign in his pocket. He suffered extreme want, sleeping out in the parks and streets, until he obtained employment as designer to a theatrical costumier. He also drew posters and cartoons, and for about two years worked for the "St Stephens Review", until he was advised to go to Australia for his health.

During the three years (1886-1889) he spent there he was attached to "The Sydney Bulletin", or "The Bulletin" as it was better known, for which many of his best drawings were made. He produced about 800 drawings for "The Bulletin". On his return to Europe he went to Paris by way of Rome, where he worked hard for some time before he appeared in 1892 in London to resume his interrupted connection with the "St Stephens Review". His studies of the London guttersnipe and the coster-girl rapidly made him famous. His overflowing sense of fun, his genuine sympathy with his subjects, and his kindly wit were on a par with his artistic ability. It was often said that the extraordinary economy of line which was a characteristic feature of his drawings had been forced upon him by the deficiencies of the printing machines of the "Sydney Bulletin". It was in fact the result of a laborious process which involved a number of preliminary sketches, and of a carefully considered system of elimination. His later work included some excellent political portraits. He became a regular member of the staff of "Punch" in 1896, and in his later years his services were retained exclusively for "Punch" and "The Graphic". He died in 1903.

There was an exhibition of his drawings at the Fine Arts Society in 1895, and another at the Leicester Galleries in 1903. A selection of his drawings contributed to the periodical press. Examples of his work will be found at the leading Australian galleries, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum. In addition to his "Summer" and "Winter Annuals" various collections were published, including "Phil May's Sketch Book" (1895), "Phil May's Guttersnipes" (1896), "Phil May's Graphic Pictures" and "Phil May's A. B. C." (1897), "Phil May's Album" (1899), "Phil May, Sketches from Punch" (1903). Posthumous publications include "Phil May in Australia" (1904), "The Phil May Folio" (1904), and "Humorists of the Pencil, Phil May" (1908).

References

*1911

External links

* [http://www.isd.salford.ac.uk/library/resources/special/may-cheney.xml Phil May and Leo Cheney Collection from the University of Salford site]