John Minnion (born

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, 13 August 1949) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

."Minnion, John , Biography"
British Cartoon Archive,

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. . His distinctive black and white drawings have appeared in publications such as the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

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'', where for six years he illustrated the television criticism column written by Lynne Truss, author of the surprise best-seller about punctuation, '' Eats, Shoots and Leaves''. Minnion drew politicians for 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 ...

'' and composers (both

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and classical) for '' The Listener''. His skilful

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

s are drawn always from photographs, never from life. Among Minnion's earliest issued works, which he published himself, are illustrated versions of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's '' Jabberwocky'' (1973) and ''

The Hunting of the Snark ''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony in 8 Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight por ...

'' (1976). He also issued a small folio of illustrations to

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

's '' Waiting for Godot''. Most recently, Minnion has published several books that bring together drawn and written portraits, under the label of his own publishing company, Checkmate Books. The first of these books was ''Glued to the Gogglebox'', which brought together various

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

personalities. His second publication centred on 20th-century composers and was named ''Uneasy Listening''. This was closely followed by ''Hitler's List'', a compendium of those found undesirable by the Third Reich, from Gypsies to

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, concentrating on the so-called degenerate art. His most recent publication is ''Pool of Life: The Story of Liverpool in Caricatures'', which has been released as part of the city's year as European Capital of Culture. He currently lives in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

References

Biography of Minnion
at Gallery4allarts.com

Notes

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External links

*
Biography of Minnion
at British Cartoon Archive site,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnion, John 1949 births English caricaturists English cartoonists English illustrators English satirists Living people Artists from Guildford