Bernard Partridge
Sir John Bernard Partridge (11 October 1861 – 9 August 1945) was an English illustrator. Born in London, he was the son of Professor Richard Partridge, F.R.S., president of the Royal College of Surgeons, and nephew of John Partridge, portrait-painter extraordinary to Queen Victoria. For some years he was well known as an actor under the name of Bernard Gould. Life and work. Partridge was educated at Stonyhurst College where one of his fellow pupils was Arthur Conan Doyle. After matriculating at the University of London, he worked for six months in the offices of architect H. Handsom , and then joined the firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, ecclesiastical designers, where he spent two years producing alter-pieces, stained-glass etc. He then studied decorative painting under Philip Westlake, 1880–1884. He began illustration for the press and practised watercolour painting, but his chief success was derived from book illustration. Partridge was very interested in the theatre and acted under the stage name "Bernard Gould". He appeared in the first production of George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man". Many of his early drawings were of stage subjects or personalities, and some of his finest caricatures in later  life were drawn from the world of the stage. Partridge was a frequent exhibitor, exhibiting nearly 200 works in total. In 1891 Partridge joined the staff of "Punch " and, in 1910, became its chief cartoonist, replacing Edward Linley Sambourne. During his time at "Punch", Partridge published several cartoons supporting the Suffragist movement. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and of The Pastel Society. In 1915 he designed posters to encourage recruitment to the British Army, some of which are now held at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, including "Take up  the Sword of Justice" which featured the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (H33861/33). Partridge was one of the leading illustrators selected by Percy Bradshaw for inclusion in his "The Art of the Illustrator" (1917-1918) which presented a separate portfolio for each of twenty illustrators. In 1925 Partridge was knighted on the advice of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and gave his support to the government during the General Strike.