Bernard Partridge

Sir John Bernard Partridge (11 October 1861– 9 August 1945)[1] 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,[2] and nephew of John Partridge, portrait-painter extraordinary to Queen Victoria.[2] For some years he was well known as an actor under the name of Bernard Gould.[3][4]

The 1904 cartoon on the Entente Cordiale by John Bernard Partridge; John Bull stalks off with a defiant Marianne and turns his back on the Kaiser, who pretends not to care.
For others with the same name, see John Partridge.

Bernard Partridge

Bernard Partridge's signature, 1916
Caricature of Hall Caine signed JBP in Vanity Fair, 1896.

Education

Partridge was educated at Stonyhurst College where one of his fellow pupils was Arthur Conan Doyle.[5]

Life and work

Partridge then worked for six months in the offices of architect H. Handsom, before joining the firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, ecclesiastical designers, where he spent two years producing altar-pieces, stained-glass etc.[5] He then studied decorative painting under Philip Westlake, 1880–1884. He began illustrating 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.[3] 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.[6]

In 1891 Partridge joined the staff of Punch [7] and, in 1909, became its chief cartoonist, replacing Edward Linley Sambourne.[8] 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.

A diploma designed by Partridge was presented to medal winners of the 1908 Summer Olympic Games in London.[9]

Partridge was a frequent exhibitor,[note 1] exhibiting nearly 200 works in total.

In 1897 Partridge married Lydia Faith Harvey (1873-1961) of Finsbury Park. Lady Partridge maintained relationships with others in the art world before and after her husband's death. These included Sir Hugh Lane[11] and Margaret E. Wilson.[12] She died childless.[13]

Unconquerable

Partridge was still producing work for Punch until three months before his death, so readers of Punch had been viewing his cartoons for over fifty years.

World War I Works
Take Up The Sword Of Justice

1915 Partridge designed posters to encourage recruitment to the British Army. Take up the Sword of Justice was one of the most popular, printed by David Allen & Sons, for the British Parliamentary Recruiting Committee (PRC).[14] It features the sinking RMS Lusitania, drowning passengers, and a vengeful Lady Justice wielding the Sword of Justice.[15] State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, is just one of the many libraries and museums around the world which hold copies of this poster.[16]

Another work from this time that was well known to the populace was Unconquerable. It features Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and Albert I, the King of the Belgians. The cartoon was published by Punch in October 1914. This original was presented to the Queen of the Belgians by the Gardeners' Company, the purchase money going to the Belgian Relief Fund.[17] In 1917 copies of the poster, styled "the Greatest War Picture ...... in magnificent colour reproduction", which Partridge based on his original cartoon were sent by Punch to new subscribers as part of a promotion.[18][19] In 1919 Punch sent complimentary copies of this poster to public libraries and Schools of Arts across Australia and New Zealand, many of which were framed and placed in their reading rooms.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

Persons who served overseas with Expeditionary Forces in an active war zone, and were disabled, received a King's Certificate of Discharge stating that they "Served with honour". The certificate was designed by Partridge in 1916, at the request of the War Office.[26][27]

At this time he also designed postcards for Blue Cross Quarantine Kennels, for soldiers bringing home their pet dogs.[4]

Partridge was the twentieth of twenty illustrators selected by Percy V. Bradshaw for inclusion in his series The Art of the Illustrator (1917-1918) which presented a separate portfolio for each illustrator.[28][note 2]

World War II Works

One of his most famous cartoons of this war was Salute to Malta. In it St. George, wearing the Maltese Cross, defends the stronghold of Malta against the dragon.[31]

Knight Bachelor

Partridge was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1925 Birthday Honours on the advice of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and gave his support to the government during the General Strike.

Notes
  1. Partridge exhibited as follows: 112 works at the Fine Art Society, three works at the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 12 works at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 44 works at the Leicester Galleries, two works at the New English Art Club, 18 works at the Royal Academy, and three works at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.[10]
  2. The portfolio contained: a brief biography of Partridge, an illustration of Partridge at work in his studio, an explanation of Partridge's method of working. This was accompanied by a plate showing an illustration typical of his work and five other plates showing the work at five earlier stages of its production, from the first rough to the just before the finished drawing or colour sketch.[29] Partridge's pen and ink drawing shows what appears to be a German cavalry man with a ragged, blindfolded woman riding pillion on a mountain road. It was reproduced by permission of Punch and was probably a political reference to the First World War. The extraneous sketches in the preparatory work suggest that this was from his sketch-book, rather than being specially prepared.[30]

References
  1. "Obituary: Sir Bernard Partridge". The Times. 11 August 1945. p. 6.
  2. A. & C. Black Ltd. (1967). Who Was Who: Volume IV 1941-1950: A Companion to Who's Who Containing the Biographies of Those Who Died During the Period 1941-1950. Vol. 4 1941-1950 (4th ed.). London: Adam and Charles Black. p. 889. ISBN 9780713601718. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
  3. Room, Adrian (2004). Dictionary of Pseudonyms (4th ed.). Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 204. ISBN 0-7864-1658-0. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
  4. "Bernard Partridge - British Cartoon Archive - University of Kent". www.cartoons.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  5. Bryant, Mark (2018). "Partridge, Sir John Bernard". The Dictionary of 20th-century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists. London: Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-315-20279-2.
  6. Houfe, Simon (1981). Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists, 1800-1914 (Rev. ed.). Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club. p. 409. ISBN 9780902028739. Retrieved 22 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
  7. "PARTRIDGE, Bernard". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 1362. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  8. "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  9. "Diploma Olympic Games 1908 London". www.olympic-museum.de. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  10. Johnson, J.; Greutzner, A. (8 June 1905). The Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club. p. 391.
  11. Partridge, Faith (1910). "Letter from Faith Partridge to Hugh Lane asking him if he still wants the purple willow weed for his garden". catalogue.nli.ie. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  12. "Queen Mary Visits Artist's Studio". The Kensington News and West London Times. 25 February 1949. p. 2. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  13. "In 1911 England & Wales Census". records.myheritagelibraryedition.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  14. Taylor, James (2013). "2. Weapons of Mass Persuasion". Your country needs you : the secret history of the ultimate propaganda poster (ebook ed.). Glasgow: Saraband. ISBN 9781908643117.
  15. "Take Up the Sword of Justice". Imperial War Museums. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  16. "State Library Victoria - Viewer". State Library Victoria. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  17. "LITERARY NOTES". The Australasian. Vol. XCVIII, no. 2, 555. Victoria, Australia. 20 March 1915. p. 44. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ""UNCONQUERABLE."". The Advertiser. Vol. LX, no. 18, 409. South Australia. 13 October 1917. p. 9. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "Advertising". The Advertiser. Vol. LX, no. 18, 409. South Australia. 13 October 1917. p. 13. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. "GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY". Daily Mail. No. 5237. Queensland, Australia. 29 July 1919. p. 2. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. "UNCONQUERABLE". The Capricornian. Vol. 44, no. 30. Queensland, Australia. 26 July 1919. p. 44. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. "A WAR CARTOON". The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers' Advocate. Vol. XXX, no. 2534. New South Wales, Australia. 30 April 1919. p. 2. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. "THE DEFENCE OF ARCHANGEL". The Border Watch. Vol. LVIII, no. 5749. South Australia. 9 May 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. "A GIFT FROM "PUNCH."". Geelong Advertiser. No. 22, 482. Victoria, Australia. 6 June 1919. p. 2. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. "Southland Times". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 April 1919. p. 4. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  26. "The Silver War Badge & Kings Certificate Of Discharge WW1". www.forces-war-records.co.uk. 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  27. "Woodville Examiner". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 May 1919. p. 4. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  28. Bradshaw, Percy V. (Percy Venner) (1900), Bernard Partridge and his work, Press Art School, archived from the original on 24 June 2022, retrieved 24 June 2022
  29. "The Connisseur Bookself". The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors. 51 (204): 223. 1 August 1918. Retrieved 12 August 2020 – via The Internet Archive.
  30. "Bernard Partridge: Bernard Partridge and His Work: The Art of the Illustrator (Limited Edition Prints)". Illustration Art Gallery with The Book Palace. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  31. "WW2 Cartoons from Punch magazine by Bernard Partridge | PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive". magazine.punch.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
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