ARTIST OF WONDERLAND - The Life, Political Cartoons, and Illustrations of Tenniel by France Morris. U. of Virginia Press, PO Box 400318, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4318; www.upress.virginia.edu; emily@virginia.edu. 2005. 405+xv pp. $65.00 hardcover, ISBN 0-8139-2343-3. illustrations, appendix, notes, index.
The illustrated biography of one of England's major 19th-century illustrators has about 180 of Tenniel's illustrations along with 30-40 other related ones. This outstanding, comprehensive, definitive work covers both Tenniel's biography and his artistic career. The career focuses on the two major factors of Tenniel's classic illustrations for various editions of "Alice in Wonderland" and his political and social cartoons appearing in "Punch" magazine for decades. The illustrator's style, caricature, and perspective are discussed in relation to political and social events and issues of the time, including Tenniel being caught up in the social controversy and legal proceedings surrounding "Punch" articles allegedly denigrating the Irish and Tenniel's related illustrations often picturing Irish men with simian-like or other animal-like features. But for the most part, Tenniel was a popular and successful artist because he portrayed with unmatched, unfailing skill and ingenuity England's image of itself as the world's leading colonial and commercial power with an enviable domestic political system. This included critical cartoons of some of England's policies and practices and leading politicians which were a part of the modern-day English political and media tradition. Tenniel's position among the handful of England's top illustrators is secure, and does not have to be supported by argument or claims. The art historian and Tenniel authority Morris mainly fills in the ground for Tenniel's acknowledged pedestal. For collectors, besides the numerous illustrations in the text tracing Tenniel's career and exemplifying his imagination and versatility, there is an appendix "A Guide to Tenniel's Unidentified Punch Work."
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
