The times., 1898-08-14
PHIL MAY.
Puneh's Famous Artist Discusses
American and English Illustrations

PHIL MAY.
Puneh's Famous Artist Discusses
American and English Illustrations
London, July THE airy and epigram-
matte author OF 'SThe Gentle Art of Max
ing Enemies has written that BLACK
and :. hite IN England Means Phil May"
and the artistic world has fully indorsei
Mr.. Whistier's opinion, which was given
before the young artist had taken his
present position among the greatest
comic artists of The age, ranking him
self with Cruikshank Leech, -Keene. Ten
Hiel and Du Maurier
Born at Leeds thirty-two years Mr..
May began life as office boy to a lawyer.
with, however, scant satisfaction to his
employer. for the lad passed most of his
time decorating the margins of the dull
legal documents which il was his
duty TO transcribe with witty sketches
and caricatures of the clients Sir Frank
Lockwood the celebrated advocate. him
self no mean ar list, was one OF the first
to discover young Mays talent. During
the Leeds assizes, he glanced over the
lads shoulder and at once perceived that
he was a genius. A little time ago. in
speaking of the death of Sir Frank, Mr..
May told me that the kindly manner in
which his early patron had praised these
drawings had iIlumined his heart with the
first rays of ambitious nope.
Having abandoned his legal aspirations
young May became attached to a thea
trical company at the stipend of twelve
s.f--
which ne designed posters and made him
self generally useful. But firing OF this
mode Of life, and feeling hat there great
er possibilities within his reach at the
age Of seventeen he set forth to seek his
fortunes in London and was often with
out money 10 buy bed or breakfast
In 1854 Mr.. May married and In 1885
went 10 Australia 10 take place on the
staff of the Sydney Bulletin. He re-
turned from the anipodes about seven
years ago, and residing for two years in
Paris. where. by the way, he lived next
door but one TO Sara Bernhardt. ne final
ly settled down in London, and from that
time his career has been one of unin.eE-
rupted success.
When Phil May first came from Aus
tralia, where his work had been some
what buried, and began to break into the
English papers, every illustrator who saw
his sketches perceived at once that new
force had appeared in the field. His style
was unique and his ideas original He
had reduced the art of line drawing 20
the mathematical problem OF using as
few strokes of the pen as possible. So
apparent was this that the unframed OBJ
server was inclined to characterize his
work as unfinished whereas 1t has alb
solute finish, in that it represents the
highest development of any art-telling
something without superhuity.
This is the art of the story teller; il
should be equally that of the artist. and
Mr.. May possesses it in the highest pos
sible degree His ability TO catch a type
and put il on paper is little short of mar
velous. Whether he depicts cavalry
man, long-legged and oYercoated; a cos
termonger in buttons. with a beery leer
on his face; a gin-sodden woman of the
East End, or the wrinkled and aged chill
dren of Whitechapel. he places the com
plete picture before the eyes of his aud
fence with the minimum of strokes. In
fact, he suggests as much as he draws.
For example, the Daily Graphic once re-
produced a sketch of the wharf OF Var
mouth during the morning FISH sale, and
this a half-page affair, was so full of
life, types. and even of values that il was
practically photograph in ink strokes.
As to originality of ideas, apart from
the style he started, there has been no
better example than his series of ION
the Brain showing the fads and foibles
of prominent men coming out through the
tops of their heads, after the lids of
the skulls had been lifted off. That
series, too. gave an inkling of his mar
velous ability to catch a likeness.
After doing occasional sketches for
Punch for about three years, he was
taken on the staff of the paper, at an
unusually large salary, and his sketches
for this famous publication now consti-
tute almost his exclusive journalistic
work.
Recently. I had three hours talk with
Mr.. May, followed Toy pleasant lunch
with him and his charming wife. at his
house "Rowsley," in Holland Park road
Of this road. which is nov ihe artistic
center cf London, Lord Leighton said TO
me twenty-five years ago:
Come and see me at Holland Park
road. Val Prineep and I have made l.
for ourselves
A lane. which is stiH standing was then
the only approach 20 it, sri when L I'll
Leighton and Van Princep built there,
their houses were prac ticaaly the ony
ones of which 1t boasted, so that they
looked upon ii as their own. Surrounded
nv green meadows and pleasant orch
ards, both mansions backed upon the
famous park and residence of Lord Hol-
land, place still garlanded with all the
'airest flowers OF poetry, romance. liter
atslre, and art, for, with few, exceptions.
every great man of that period, so rich
IN talent. had met at Holland house in
the 'salon" of its ambitious. if not al
ways amiable mistress. Lady Holland
When Lord Leighton built his be uti-
fuA studio house. so often described. S|th
its oriental splendor, its morble floors and
fountains, its Moorish lattice work and
priceless collection of pictures and bric-a-
bFac, Holland park still consisted CT
many broad acres, long since built over.
and there were persons then living who
remembered the time when bloodhounds
were let loose in the park every night u
guard II. gun being fired to give warn
ing that the feashes had been slipped
Next TO the Prfnceps dwelling stands
'Rowsley, a two-storied, red brick house,