Hugh Stuart Menzies was a British advertising executive. Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in 1922 he set up the Stuart Advertising Agency

Stuart Advertising Agency

Although little mention of Stuart's Advertising Agency can be found in books on pre-war advertising, Stuarts was, during the 1920s and 30s, one of the leading London advertising agencies. Located at Kingsway House, Kingsway W.C.2, the firm was founded in 1922 by H. Stuart Menzies...

 that worked with contemporary artists of the time such as Edward Bawden

Edward Bawden

Edward Bawden, CBE, RA was a British painter, illustrator and graphic artist. He was also famous for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture...

, Edward McKnight Kauffer

Edward McKnight Kauffer

Edward McKnight Kauffer was an influential American-born artist noted for his avant garde graphic design and poster art, especially in England....

, Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson

Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...

, and Barbara Hepworth

Barbara Hepworth

Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...

. Menzies initially worked for Fortnum and Mason

Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum & Mason, often shortened to just "Fortnum's" is a department store, situated in central London, with two other branches in Japan. Its headquarters is located at 181 Piccadilly, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason...

 running their Invalid Delicasies Food Department before becoming a copywriter and producing the Commentaries for Fortnum & Mason - a new style of direct mail

Direct mail

Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...

 booklets illustrated by W Hendy, Menzies and Edward Bawden. The Stuart Advertising Agency were commissioned to design the logo of Imperial Airways and some of the Shell on the Road publicity for Shell-Mex. Menzies's business partner, Marcus Brumwell, headed the firm when Menzies retired around 1938-9. Menzies moved with his wife, Elizabeth to Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

 and later settled in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He died in December 1959 whilst on a cruise near Gibraltar.