Matthew Pritchett

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...

(born 14 July 1964) is a British

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 a ...

ist who has worked on ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' newspaper under the pen name Matt since 1988.

Early life and education

Pritchett's father Oliver Pritchett, who was a columnist for ''The Telegraph'' for several decades, is the son of the writer

V. S. Pritchett Sir Victor Sawdon Pritchett (also known as VSP; 16 December 1900 – 20 March 1997) was a British writer and literary critic. Pritchett was known particularly for his short stories, collated in a number of volumes. His non-fiction works inc ...

. Matt's sister is screenwriter

Georgia Pritchett Georgia Pritchett (born 1968) is a British producer, screenwriter, and author. She is best known for her work on ''Veep'' and '' Succession'', as well as her book ''My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety''. ''The Guardian'' described Pri ...

. Pritchett attended a grammar school in south-east London before studying graphics at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...

. He began working as a waiter in a pizza restaurant, and began drawing cartoons in his spare time. His first cartoon was published in 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 o ...

'', and he soon began drawing cartoons for ''The Telegraph'' diary. He had considered becoming a film-cameraman, but gave up after realising he had misunderstood the role.

Career

Following the death of Mark Boxer in 1988, Pritchett was hired by

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of '' The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standar ...

to be The Telegraph's new cartoonist. His first cartoon in this role came the day after the newspaper was printed with the wrong date, leading them to make a front-page apology accompanied by a cartoon stating "I hope I have a better Thursday than I did yesterday". He was appointed an

in the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

"for services to Journalism", and in 2005, ''

Press Gazette ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British media trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500, before becoming online-only in 2013. Publis ...

'' inducted him into their Hall of Fame as one of the 40 most influential journalists of the previous four decades. He has won the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named '' ...

' "Cartoonist of the Year" several times, and has been a nominee many other times. His work has also been published in ''

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 ...

''.

Personal life

Pritchett is married to Pascale Smets, a Belgian former fashion designer. They met whilst studying at Saint Martin's, and have three daughters and a son together. His wife's sister, Benedicte, is married to

Martin Newland Martin Newland (born 26 October 1961) is a British journalist, a former Editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' who now consults on media and communications, most recently in the Middle East. He was an advisor to Abu Dhabi Media and before that was Ex ...

, a former editor of ''The Telegraph''.

Published works

* *

Awards

(The Press Awards after 2010): "Cartoonist of the Year" (2000, 2008, 2009, 2019) *The Press Awards: "The Journalists' Charity Award" (2014)

References

External links

Telegraph cartoons

Biography at the British Cartoon Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchett, Matt 1964 births British comedians Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire Punch (magazine) cartoonists Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art British cartoonists