View source for Phil May (caricaturist)

{{short description|English illustrator and caricaturist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Phil May
| image         = Photo of Phil May.jpg
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Philip William May
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1864|4|22|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Wortley, West Yorkshire|Wortley]], [[Leeds]], England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1903|8|5|1864|4|22|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[St John's Wood]], [[London]], England
| nationality   = 
| field         = 
| training      = 
| movement      =
| works         = 
| patrons       =
| influenced by = 
| influenced    =
| awards        =
| signature     = 
}}
'''Philip William May''' (22 April 1864 – 5 August 1903) was an [[England|English]] [[caricaturist]] who, with his vigorous economy of line, played an important role in moving away from Victorian styles of illustration towards the creation of the modern humorous cartoon.

==Biography==
Phil May was born at [[Wortley, West Yorkshire|Wortley]], near [[Leeds]], the son of an [[engineer]], who died when May was nine years old. His mother was the daughter of Eugene Macarthy, one time manager of the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]]. She was left in very poor circumstances and the family had a great struggle to exist.

May's grandfather, a country gentleman, had some talent as a draughtsman and liked drawing caricatures. At the age of twelve, in Leeds, May became friendly with Fred Fox, whose father was the scenic artist at the recently opened Grand Theatre. That gave him a free run of the theatre, where he used to sketch sections of other people's designs for costumes, as well as sketching actors' portraits, for which he received one shilling, later rising to five shillings. Another of his contemporaries was Walter Curtis, who became prominent as a [[music hall]] comedian and general entertainer.
[[File:(Bookplate of English caricaturist Phil May) (LOC) (15585476586).jpg|thumb|Bookplate of English caricaturist Phil May]]
May had begun to earn his living in a solicitor's office; before he was fifteen he had acted as time-keeper at a foundry, had tried to become a [[jockey]] and had been on the stage at [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]] and Leeds. When only fourteen years old, had drawings accepted for the ''Yorkshire Gossip''. When he was about seventeen he went to [[London]] with a [[gold sovereign|sovereign]] in his pocket. He suffered extreme want, sleeping out in the parks and streets, until he obtained employment as designer to a theatrical [[costumier]]. He also drew [[poster]]s and [[cartoon]]s, and for about two years worked for the ''St Stephens Review'', until he was advised to go to [[Australia]] for his health.

[[File:Phil May in Vanity fair.jpg|thumb|210px|"Phil", by [[Leslie Ward]], in ''Vanity Fair'', 1895.]]

During the three years (1886–1889) he spent in Australia he was attached to ''The Sydney Bulletin'', or ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'' as it was better known, for which many of his best drawings were made. He produced about 800 drawings for ''The Bulletin''. On his return to [[Europe]] he went to [[Paris]] by way of [[Rome]], where he worked hard for some time, before he appeared in 1892 in London to resume his interrupted connection with the ''St Stephens Review''. His studies of the London [[guttersnipe]] and the [[coster-girl]] rapidly made him famous. His overflowing sense of fun, his genuine sympathy with his subjects, and his kindly wit were on a par with his artistic ability.

While drawing for ''The Bulletin'' he would produce the illustration “The Mongolian Octopus” (1886),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/exhibitions/2019/05/10/australia-for-the-white-man|date=2015-05-19|last=Hansen|first=Guy|work=National Library of Australia|title=Australia for the white man|accessdate=2022-07-18}}</ref> an [[Anti-Chinese sentiment#Australia|anti-Chinese]] cartoon which has been described as “the most scandalous and racist cartoon ever to grace the Australian media”.<ref>{{cite news|title=Racism rife aboard the Shanghai Trader|date=1986-08-27|page=17|author=<!--not stated--> |work=The Canberra Times|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/119471302|volume=60|issue=18592|location=Canberra, ACT, Australia}}</ref> ''The Bulletin''’s motto at this time was “Australia for the White Man”; May himself has been described as “openly racist and anti-Semitic”.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inked: Australian Cartoons at the National Library of Australia will make you think more than laugh|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6114629/cartoon-exhibition-will-make-you-think/|date=2019-05-22|first1=Sasha|last1=Grishin|accessdate=2022-07-18|work=The Canberra Times}}</ref>

It was often said{{by whom|date=November 2020}} that the extraordinary economy of line which was a characteristic feature of his drawings had been forced upon him by the deficiencies of the printing equipment of the ''Sydney Bulletin''. It was in fact the result of a laborious process which involved a number of preliminary sketches, and a carefully considered system of elimination. His later work included some excellent political portraits. He became a regular member of the staff of ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' in 1896, and in his later years his services were retained exclusively for ''Punch'' and ''[[The Graphic]]''. In 1898, he was a founder member  of the [[London Sketch Club]]. He died from tuberculosis in 1903 at his home in [[St John's Wood]], London.<ref name=adb>{{cite book|last1=Heseltine|first1=H. P.|chapter=Philip William (Phil) May (1864–1903) |chapter-url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/may-philip-william-phil-4178|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Australian National University|date=1974|accessdate=2014-08-20}}</ref>

==Influence and reputation==
May was a major influence on the style of cartoon drawing in the 20th century. In 1918, [[Percy Bradshaw]] wrote in ''The Art of the Illustrator'' that May "surely gave more magic to a single line than any draftsman who has ever lived, and he was unquestionably the creator of the simplified technique of modern humorous drawing".<ref>Bradshaw, The Art of the Illustrator, 1918.</ref> May's work was a major influence on [[David Low (cartoonist)|David Low]]. Low recalled that his early aspirations were dampened when he saw the "intricate technical quality" of most ''Punch'' cartoons, which seemed too difficult to emulate: "But then I came on Phil May, who combined quality with apparent facility ... Once having discovered Phil May I never let him go."<ref>Low, David, ''Low's Autobiography'', London, Michael Joseph, 1956, p. 27.</ref>

In 1909, initiatives were being made in Leeds to commemorate May and in association with  [[Leeds Art Gallery]], a committee, which included   [[Middleton family|Mr. R.N. Middleton]] and  architect Sydney Kitson - the half-brother of [[James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale|Lord Airedale]] -  successfully held   an exhibition of May's original drawings  and placed a memorial tablet at  66 Wallace Street, Leeds where May had lived.<ref>{{cite news |title=Phil May Memorial TO THE EDITOR, ''DAILY GUARDIAN'' |url=https://www.genesreunited.com.au/searchbna/results?memberlastsubclass=none&searchhistorykey=0&keywords=phil%20r%20n%20%20middleton%20art&county=yorkshire%2c%20england&from=1909&to=1912 |access-date=12 September 2024 |publisher=Halifax Daily Guardian Yorkshire, England |date=10 December 1909 |quote=...Phil May Memorial TO THE EDITOR, ''DAILY GUARDIAN''. ...Mr. Frank Kitson,, Mr. Sydney Kitson, Mr. A. Mattison,... Mr. R. N. Middleton, Mr, W. Wright, with Councillor E. R.. Phillips,.. [Also] Sheffield Independent Yorkshire, England 30 Nov 1909  Phil May Memorial has decided to: (1) to fix a mural tablet on the house where Phil May was born, No. 66, Wallace Street, Leeds: (2) to acquire for the Leeds Art Gallery a selection of original drawings by Phil May...Sheffield Daily Telegraph Yorkshire, England 11 Dec 1909 THE PHIL MAY MEMORIAL: 1) To place a Memorial Tablet on 66, Wallace Street, Leeds,}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sydney Decimus Kitson |url=http://fretwell.kangaweb.com.au/pdfs/Sydney%20Decimus%20Kitson.pdf |access-date=13 September 2024 |quote=...Kitson practised as an architect...The Leeds Art Gallery was a beneficiary of Sydneys estate through his bequest...Sydney Kitson was half-brother of the  1st Lord Airedale....}}</ref>  May  was influenced by [[Frank Brangwyn|Sir Frank Brangwyn]] whose portrait he drew around 1896, when the two men were on holiday in  France.  According to Brangwyn, despite good intentions of painting hard all day every day, May and he would often spend days drinking and sketching at a French  cafe instead.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maas |first1=R. |title=Frank Brangwyn by Phillip William May, RI, RP, 1854-1903. Inscribed on an old mount 'Frank Brangwyn by Phil May 1885'. |url=https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/may/1.html |publisher=Victorian Web |access-date=3 October 2024 |date=2006}}</ref> 

There was an exhibition of May's drawings at the [[Fine Art Society]] in 1895, and another at the [[Leicester Galleries]] in 1903. A selection of his drawings contributed to the periodical press. Examples of his work can be found at the leading Australian galleries, the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], the [[British Museum]], and around three hundred drawings and watercolours are in the collection of [[Leeds Art Gallery]]. From 1892 to 1904 there were thirteen editions of ''Phil May's Illustrated Winter Annual'', with three supplemental ''Summer Annuals''.<ref name=adb/> In addition to his ''Summer'' and ''Winter Annuals'', various collections were published, including ''Phil May's Sketch Book'' (1895), ''Phil May's Guttersnipes'' (1896), ''Phil May's Graphic Pictures'' and ''Phil May's A. B. C.'' (1897), ''Phil May's Album'' (1899), ''Phil May, Sketches from Punch'' (1903). Posthumous publications include ''Phil May in Australia'' (1904), ''The Phil May Folio'' (1904), and ''Humorists of the Pencil, Phil May'' (1908).

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="168px" heights="170px" perrow="5">
File:Information Wanted, by Phil May.png|"Information wanted: 'Say, boy, do my boots want cleaning?'," 1891.
File:One of Phil May's Gutter-snipes.jpg|"The first smoke."
File:Phil May's Gutter-Snipes.jpg|"Remember, remember."
File:Drawing by Phil May.jpg|[[William Ewart Gladstone]], 1890.
File:Sketch by Phil May.jpg|"I fear no foe," 1894.
</gallery>

==Portraits==
<gallery widths="168px" heights="170px" perrow="5">
File:Phil May as seen by himself.jpg|"Phil May as seen by himself".
File:Sketch of Phil May.jpg|Phil May, by C.D. Gibson.
File:Phil May by Mayer.jpg|Sketch of May, by [[Henry Mayer (cartoonist)|Hy Mayer]], 1899.
File:PhilMayselfportrait.jpg|Self-portrait by May.
File:Phil May drawn by himself.jpg|"Phil May drawn by himself".
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=May, Phil|volume=19|page=730}}
*{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Philip William|Last=May|shortlink=0-dict-biogMa-Mo.html#may1}}

==Bibliography==
* Simon Houfe : ''Phil May: His Life and Work 1864-1903'', Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, {{ISBN|9781840146523}} {{OCLC|46731137}}
* James Thorpe: ''[https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=201410J6 English Masters of Black-and-White: Phil May]'', Art and Technics, 1948

==External links==
{{Commons category|Phil May (caricaturist)}}
*[http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/xml_file/0016/530503/may-cheney.xml Phil May and Leo Cheney Collection from the University of Salford site]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37403| name=Phil May}}
* {{FadedPage|id=May, Phil (Philip William)|name=Philip William May|author=yes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Phil May |birth=1864 |death=1903}}
*[https://rose.library.emory.edu/ Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library], Emory University: [http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/8zmnp Phil May sketch book, circa 1896]
* {{LCAuth|n88132349|Phil May|27|ue}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Phil}}
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:English cartoonists]]
[[Category:English caricaturists]]
[[Category:People from Wortley, Leeds]]
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1903 deaths]]
[[Category:Punch (magazine) cartoonists]]
[[Category:British male artists]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in England]]
[[Category:Artists from Leeds]]