Richard Doyle (illustrator)
Encyclopedia
Richard "Dickie" Doyle was a notable illustrator of the Victorian era
. His work frequently appeared, amongst other places, in Punch magazine
; he drew the cover of the first issue, and designed the magazine's masthead, a design that was used for over a century.
Born at 17 Cambridge Terrace, London
, one of seven children of Irish
cartoon
ist John Doyle
(known as 'H.B'), a noted political caricaturist, two of his brothers, James
and Charles
, were also artists. The young Doyle had no formal art training other than his father's studio, but from an early age displayed a gifted ability to depict scenes of the fantastic and grotesque. Throughout his life he was fascinated by fairy tales. He joined the staff of Punch
in 1843 aged 19, remaining there for seven years.
Doyle collaborated with John Leech, W.C. Stanfield and other artists to co-illustrate three Charles Dickens
Christmas books, The Chimes
(1844), The Cricket on the Hearth
(1845) and The Battle of Life
(1846).
In 1846 Doyle's illustrations for The Fairy Ring (a new translation of Grimm's tales), first made his name as a fairytale illustrator. Following this in 1849 he produced Fairy Tales from All Nations (compiled by 'Anthony R. Montalba
', which proved a tremendous success. Doyle was able to fully explore his love of fairy mythology with his many illustrations and borders filled with elves, pixies and other mythical creatures.
Following this success Doyle illustrated a string of fantasy titles: The Enchanted Doll by Mark Lemon
(1849), The Story of Jack and the Giants (1850), and John Ruskin
's The King of the Golden River (1850), which went through three editions in its first year of publication.
He also wrote for Punch a series of articles entitled "Manners and Customes of ye Englyshe". A very devout Roman Catholic, he resigned his position on the staff of Punch in 1850 in response to its hostility to what was termed "papal aggression", and spent the remainder of his career in preparing drawings for book illustration and to painting in watercolour. His chief series of illustrations were those for The Newcomes
, The King of the Golden River, and The Foreign Tour of Brown, Jones and Robinson.
His masterpiece is indubitably In Fairyland, a series of Pictures from the Elf World, with a poem by William Allingham
, printed by Edmund Evans
and published by Longman
in time for Christmas 1869 (dated 1870). In the 16 colour plates and 36 line illustrations plus title page, Doyle was given a completely free hand. The folio was richly bound in green cloth, and has been described as one of the finest examples of Victorian book production (Richard Dalby, The Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration, 1991 p. 12).
Doyle was generally regarded as being brilliant but unreliable. For example, he was consistently late with his illustrations for The Newcomes
, only meeting his commitments when Thackeray
threatened to give the work to another artist. Doyle's excuses were often ridiculous, and the Dalziel Brothers
reported that on one occasion he failed to meet a deadline because he had 'not got any pencils'. Such amateurism hampered Doyle's success. Several books he had been commissioned to illustrate did not appear because he lacked the application needed to finish them, and completed work was often uneven in quality and 'deplorably pedestrian'.
Doyle signed many of his drawings with the depiction of a small bird standing on the initials 'RD', a reference to his nickname "Dickie" (as in "dickie bird").
He was the uncle of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes
stories.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. His work frequently appeared, amongst other places, in Punch magazine
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
; he drew the cover of the first issue, and designed the magazine's masthead, a design that was used for over a century.
Born at 17 Cambridge Terrace, 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...
, one of seven children of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
ist John Doyle
John Doyle (artist)
John Doyle , known by the pen name H. B., was a political cartoonist, caricaturist, painter and lithographer....
(known as 'H.B'), a noted political caricaturist, two of his brothers, James
James William Edmund Doyle
James William Edmund Doyle was an antiquary and illustrator. He was the son of John Doyle;, the brother of Richard Doyle and the uncle of Arthur Conan Doyle.He published the "Official Baronage of England" in 1886....
and Charles
Charles Altamont Doyle
Charles Altamont Doyle was a Victorian artist. He was the brother of the artist Richard Doyle, and the son of the artist John Doyle. Although the family was Irish, Doyle was born and raised in England....
, were also artists. The young Doyle had no formal art training other than his father's studio, but from an early age displayed a gifted ability to depict scenes of the fantastic and grotesque. Throughout his life he was fascinated by fairy tales. He joined the staff of Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
in 1843 aged 19, remaining there for seven years.
Doyle collaborated with John Leech, W.C. Stanfield and other artists to co-illustrate three Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
Christmas books, The Chimes
The Chimes
The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In, a short novel by Charles Dickens, was written and published in 1844, one year after A Christmas Carol and one year before The Cricket on the Hearth...
(1844), The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth. A Fairy Tale of Home is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin Henry Landseer. Dickens began writing the book around...
(1845) and The Battle of Life
The Battle of Life
The Battle of Life: A Love Story is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in 1846. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas Books", coming after The Cricket on the Hearth and followed by The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain....
(1846).
In 1846 Doyle's illustrations for The Fairy Ring (a new translation of Grimm's tales), first made his name as a fairytale illustrator. Following this in 1849 he produced Fairy Tales from All Nations (compiled by 'Anthony R. Montalba
Anthony R. Montalba
Anthony Rubens Montalba was a Swedish-born, naturalised British painter and the head of a family of renowned artists that based itself in Venice in the later part of the nineteenth-century...
', which proved a tremendous success. Doyle was able to fully explore his love of fairy mythology with his many illustrations and borders filled with elves, pixies and other mythical creatures.
Following this success Doyle illustrated a string of fantasy titles: The Enchanted Doll by Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.-Biography:Lemon was born in London on the 30 November 1809. He was the son of Martin Lemon, a hop merchant, and Alice Collis. His parents married on 26 December 1808 at St Mary, Marylebone, London...
(1849), The Story of Jack and the Giants (1850), and John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
's The King of the Golden River (1850), which went through three editions in its first year of publication.
He also wrote for Punch a series of articles entitled "Manners and Customes of ye Englyshe". A very devout Roman Catholic, he resigned his position on the staff of Punch in 1850 in response to its hostility to what was termed "papal aggression", and spent the remainder of his career in preparing drawings for book illustration and to painting in watercolour. His chief series of illustrations were those for The Newcomes
The Newcomes
The Newcomes is an novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1855.-Publication:The Newcomes was published serially over about two years, as Thackeray himself says in one of the novel's final chapters...
, The King of the Golden River, and The Foreign Tour of Brown, Jones and Robinson.
His masterpiece is indubitably In Fairyland, a series of Pictures from the Elf World, with a poem by William Allingham
William Allingham
William Allingham was an Irish man of letters and a poet.-Biography:He was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland and was the son of the manager of a local bank who was of English descent...
, printed by Edmund Evans
Edmund Evans
Edmund Evans was a prominent English wood engraver and colour printer during the Victorian era. Evans specialized in full-colour printing, which became popular in the mid-19th century...
and published by Longman
Longman
Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
in time for Christmas 1869 (dated 1870). In the 16 colour plates and 36 line illustrations plus title page, Doyle was given a completely free hand. The folio was richly bound in green cloth, and has been described as one of the finest examples of Victorian book production (Richard Dalby, The Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration, 1991 p. 12).
Doyle was generally regarded as being brilliant but unreliable. For example, he was consistently late with his illustrations for The Newcomes
The Newcomes
The Newcomes is an novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1855.-Publication:The Newcomes was published serially over about two years, as Thackeray himself says in one of the novel's final chapters...
, only meeting his commitments when Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
threatened to give the work to another artist. Doyle's excuses were often ridiculous, and the Dalziel Brothers
Dalziel Brothers
The Brothers Dalziel were a highly productive firm of Victorian engravers founded in 1839 by George Dalziel and his brother Edward Dalziel . They were later joined by John Dalziel and Thomas Dalziel . All were sons of the artist, Alexander Dalziel of Wooler in Northumberland...
reported that on one occasion he failed to meet a deadline because he had 'not got any pencils'. Such amateurism hampered Doyle's success. Several books he had been commissioned to illustrate did not appear because he lacked the application needed to finish them, and completed work was often uneven in quality and 'deplorably pedestrian'.
Doyle signed many of his drawings with the depiction of a small bird standing on the initials 'RD', a reference to his nickname "Dickie" (as in "dickie bird").
He was the uncle of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories.
External links
- Works by Richard Doyle in the University of Florida Digital CollectionsUniversity of Florida Digital CollectionsThe University of Florida Digital Collections are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections comprise a constantly growing collection of digital resources from the...
including Princess Nobody - Fairy tales from all nations, illus. Richard Doyle
- Detailed biography on Victorianweb