For The Birds

Searle may be famous for his cats and to a lesser degree his dogs but he was also partial to drawing birds. He even depicted the eponymous avian mascot of Penguin books wearing a mask with the likeness of the artist. Perhaps he identified with this flightless and somewhat hopeless creature?

'The Outsider' 1977

Karikatur Museum, Krems

'The Clown' Uncorrected color lithographic proof on wove paper, 1970s. Published by Michel Cassé for Editions RS, Paris. Regular edition 99.

'The Stranger' Uncorrected color lithographic proof on wove paper, 1970s. Published by Michel Cassé for Editions RS, Paris.

"CRETINOUS OWL UTTERLY CONVINCED THAT IT IS REVERED AS A SYMBOL OF WISDOM"

'Perpetual Motion'

'Mozarteen Birds' 1988
From Attempted Bloggery

'The Flight' 

Uncorrected color lithographic proof on wove paper, 1978. Published by Michel Cassé, Paris. Titled in pencil by the artist and notated “!st Colour Proof, Rec’d 22 July ‘78”. Regular edition 99.

From Attempted Bloggery

Unpublished 'New Yorker' cover

'Owls' from the Wilhelm Busch Museum fir Karikatur, Hanover. If I remember correctly the owl represents Searle's second wife, Monica.

'Punch' cover 9th May,1962

Research help

On the Searle trail: I'm trying to trace the family of Prof. Robert H Butman who taught at Haverford College between the mid 50s to the 1980s. I found his obituary with family members but I'm stuck there unable to find them. Anybody experienced at tracking descendants? I'm hoping to find his son Christopher John James Butman.

Lilliput pt.1

Lilliput magazine was a popular, pocket sized magazine of the 1940s-50s. Searle's work for the magazine fell into two styles; the broad cartoons of St. Trinians and the Patrick Campbell series; and more naturalistic illustrations accompanying short stories.

'Life in the Studio' 1946

These two studies are in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Two sketches for 'Artist & Model' a cartoon for Lilliput magazine. Searle thoroughly explored the composition and forms of his figures before working up the final drawing. It looks like the first one was almost final then abandoned?

The same here: a study and a more worked up final but I'm not aware of them seeing publication in Lilliput.

October 1946

'"GIRLS, GIRLS! - A LITTLE LESS NOISE, PLEASE"' Lilliput, October 1946.
 Hurrah for St. Trinian's, London, 1948. 

January 1947 

'Cave!'
Lilliput, January 1947.

Hurrah for St. Trinian's, London, 1948, p. 57. 

March 1947

'The Place Where it Happened'

A Report by Honor Tracy

Lilliput magazine May 1949

'The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag'

A Short Story byJim Corbett

Lilliput magazine April-May 1951

'All Correct, Sir

A Short Story by Bill Naughton

Lilliput magazine May-June 1951

'Maisie was a Lady

A Short Story by Paul Vincent Carroll

Lilliput magazine June-July 1951

'Honesty's A Jewel'

A Short Story by Roderick Milton

Lilliput magazine Nov-Dec 1951

Searle only illustrated two covers for the magazine as far as I know.

Many of Searle's contemporaries worked for the magazine too; James Fitton, Anton, Walter Trier, Gerald Hoffnung et al. and it was well known as a compendium of the best of British illustration in the 1950s. Even the Disney animators were familiar with it and an hommage found its way into 'One Hundred & One Dalmations' (1961), perhaps a tacit admission from a film which stylized its art direction directly after Searle's work.

Searle's artwork was so ubiquitous during this era that even in an issue absent of Searle's editorial illustrations there would still be advertisements illustrated by him.

See my Lilliput blog for more. . .