Margaret Constance Belsky ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Owen, better known by her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Belsky, (20 June 1919 – 26 January 1989), was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and illustrator. Belsky was born on 20 June 1919 in

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole. Situation and geography The town is bu ...

to Albert Edward Owen and Margaret Constance Davies-Bunton. She attended the Bournemouth School of Art and later studied engraving and illustration at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. Belsky won a cartoon competition for ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' in the 1930s. It was at the Royal College of Art that she met her future husband,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

exile and sculptor,

Franta Belsky František Bělský (also known as Franta Belsky; 6 April 1921 – 5 July 2000) was a Czech people, Czech sculpture, sculptor. He was known for large-scale abstract works of public art as well as more iconographic statues and busts of noted ...

. Franta introduced her work to editors he knew at the magazine '' Lilliput'', where Belsky became a regular contributor. In 1944, Margaret and Franta married, with Belsky taking on her husband's name for her single word signature, disguising her gender. Belsky started working for the ''

Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' in 1951 and became their first ever

pocket cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

ist, at the same time becoming the first woman to draw a daily front-page cartoon. Belsky was dismissive of her own work, calling herself "just a hack." She didn't collect her work, though it was estimated that she may have drawn more than 6,000 cartoons while working for the ''Daily Herald''. When the ''Daily Herald'', later '' The Sun'', was taken over by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

in 1969, Belsky refused to work for him. Instead she contributed cartoons for many other newspapers and magazines, including ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

Men Only ''Men Only'' is a British magazine title that originated in 1935 as a pocket-sized men's magazine. It became a standard-sized Pin-up model, pin-up magazine in the 1950s and was relaunched in 1971 by Paul Raymond Publications as a soft-core porn ...

,'' the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

,'' the ''Financial Weekly,'' and ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday ...

''. She also became an illustrator for children's books, designing the covers for various Penguin books, Belsky died on 26 January 1989. and illustrating several of the ''

Nippers Nippers are young surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike senior surf lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for Nippers tends t ...

'' series of young readers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belsky 1919 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Art British editorial cartoonists People from Wareham, Dorset British women cartoonists British women illustrators Artists from Dorset