Ronald Searle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ronald Searle
CBE RDI
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Searle in 2011
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| Born |
Ronald William Fordham Searle
3 March 1920 Cambridge, England
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| Died | 30 December 2011 (aged 91) Draguignan, Var, Provence, France
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| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Illustration, graphic artist, cartoons |
Ronald William Fordham Searle (born March 3, 1920 – died December 30, 2011) was a famous English artist. He was known for his funny drawings, also called cartoons. He was also a sculptor, a medal designer, and an illustrator for books.
Ronald Searle is best known for creating the characters from St Trinian's School. He also worked with Geoffrey Willans on the popular Molesworth books.
Contents
Ronald Searle's Life Story
Ronald Searle was born in Cambridge, England. His father worked for the Post Office, fixing telephone lines. Ronald started drawing when he was only five years old.
He left school at 15 and then studied art for two years. This was at Cambridge College of Arts and Technology.
War Experiences and Drawings
In April 1939, Ronald knew that a war was coming. He stopped his art studies to join the Royal Engineers in the army. In January 1942, he was in Singapore with his army unit.
After fighting for a month in Malaya, he was captured. This happened when Singapore fell to the Japanese. He spent the rest of World War II as a prisoner.
First, he was held in Changi Prison. Then, he was moved to the Kwai jungle. There, he was forced to work on the Siam-Burma Death Railway. Ronald got very sick with diseases like beriberi and malaria. He also faced harsh treatment and lost a lot of weight.
He was set free in late 1945 when the Japanese were defeated. After the war, he drew pictures in court. He worked as a courtroom artist at the Nuremberg trials and later at the Adolf Eichmann trial.
Family Life
In 1947, Ronald married a journalist named Kaye Webb. They had twin children, Kate and Johnny. In 1961, Searle moved to Paris. His marriage ended in divorce in 1967.
Later, he married Monica Koenig. She was a painter and designed for theater and jewelry. After 1975, Ronald and Monica lived and worked in the mountains of France.
Monica died in July 2011. Ronald Searle passed away on December 30, 2011, at 91 years old.
Art During Captivity
Ronald Searle drew his first St Trinian's cartoon in 1941. But his real career began with his drawings from the war. He drew the terrible conditions in the prison camps. He hid these drawings under the mattresses of prisoners who were dying.
Searle said he wanted to record what was happening. He hoped someone would find his drawings even if he died. He survived, and so did about 300 of his drawings.
After being freed in 1945, Searle returned to England. Some of his drawings were published in a book. Another prisoner said that Ronald drew calmly, even when he was very sick.
Most of these drawings are in his 1986 book. It is called Ronald Searle: To the Kwai and Back, War Drawings 1939–1945. In the book, Searle also wrote about his time as a prisoner. He said the experience changed his life forever.
One of his drawings is at the Changi Museum in Singapore. Most of his original drawings are kept at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Magazines, Books, and Films
Ronald Searle created a huge amount of art in the 1950s. He drew for magazines like Life, Holiday, and Punch. His cartoons also appeared in The New Yorker.
He made more St Trinian's books. These were based on his sister's school and other girls' schools. He worked with Geoffrey Willans on the Molesworth books. He also worked with Alex Atkinson on travel books.
Searle also drew for advertisements and posters. He even drew the backgrounds for the movie The Happiest Days of Your Life.
Later Work in Paris
After moving to Paris in 1961, he focused more on drawing for magazines. He also continued to work in many different art forms. He created books, including his famous cat books. He also made animated films and sculptures for medals.
Searle did a lot of design work for movies. In 1965, he created the opening and closing credits for Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. He also did this for the 1969 film Monte Carlo or Bust!. In 1975, a full-length cartoon called Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done was released. It was based on songs from H.M.S. Pinafore.
Medal Designs
Ronald Searle designed a medal for a big art event in London in 1992. It showed a famous artist from the past named Pisanello.
Other important medals he designed include "Searle at Seventy" (1990) and "Kwai 50th Anniversary" (1991). He also designed a medal for "Charles Dickens" (1983).
Awards and Recognition
Searle received many awards for his work, especially in America. He won the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising and Illustration Award several times. He also won the Reuben Award in 1960.
In 2004, he was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 2007, he received one of France's highest honors, the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. In 2009, he received an award from Germany.
Influence on Other Artists
Ronald Searle's work had a big impact on many other artists. This was especially true for cartoonists in America. Some famous artists he influenced include Pat Oliphant and Matt Groening. He also influenced the animators of Disney's 101 Dalmatians.
He was an early influence on John Lennon's drawing style. John Lennon's drawings appeared in his books. Anglia Ruskin University has an award named after Ronald Searle to honor his creativity in the arts.
Searle was also a friend and admirer of the humorist S. J. Perelman. He also greatly influenced the young artist Gerald Scarfe.
See also
In Spanish: Ronald Searle para niños
- Musée Tomi Ungerer/Centre international de l’illustration
- War artist
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