The Illustrators, mounted annually by Chris Beetles Gallery, has become an institution in the art world, providing the biggest event worldwide for cartoon and illustration collectors. As always, this major exhibition celebrates the range and strength of British illustrations and cartoons, from Victorian contributors to Punch (George Du Maurier and John Tenniel) through classic gift book artists (Arthur Rackham and William Heath Robinson), to the best of our contemporaries.

This year’s significant groups include, from the early to mid 20th century, Florence Harrison’s late Pre-Raphaelite images to the poetry of William Morris and Christina Rossetti; Salomon Van Abbé’s evocative illustrations to Thomas Hughes’s Tom Brown’s Schooldays; and Sherriffs’ arresting caricatures to accompany film reviews in Punch(coinciding with a major retrospective at the Cartoon Museum). Peter Firmin’s drawings forIvor the Engine and Noggin the Nog, and Quentin Blake’s Patrick, bring back the childhoods of the 1960s and 70s.

However, Quentin Blake is as active as ever, as is shown by a selection of delightful illustrations to his latest book, Fifty Fables of La Fontaine. Younger illustrators are also out in force, including Amanda Hall (with vivid and intriguing interpretations of Jewish Tales) andRebecca Cobb (with charming images to Helen Dunmore’s The Lonely Sea Dragon).

The art of the joke cartoonist is also thriving, as seen in the work of Ed McLachlan, Bill Stott, Bill Tidy, Mike Williams – and Matt of the Daily Telegraph – while Jonathan Cusickapplies his caricatural skill to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, among others.

From Richard Doyle’s fairies to Gillian Tyler’s animals, and from pen and ink vignettes to large watercolours, the show has something for everyone.

All images courtesy of Chris Beetles Gallery, St James's, London

Chris Beetles Gallery
8 & 10 Ryder Street
London (St James's) SW1Y 6QB United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 78397551
gallery@chrisbeetles.com
www.chrisbeetles.com

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