William "Bill" Papas (15 July 1927 – 19 June 2000) was a

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...

and

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

, book author and illustrator, and

watercolourist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked for ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. His work has won international acclaim and is included in many private and corporate collections around the world.

Biography

Papas was born in Ermelo,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

, and was educated at

Pretoria Boys High School , motto_translation = "Through courage and labour" , location = , streetaddress = 251 Roper Street, Brooklyn , region = , city = Pretoria , province = ...

. His father, Kostas Papas, was a Greek immigrant. At the age of 15, he ran away from home to join the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

, and flew coastal missions as a

tail gunner A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or aut ...

during the war. He later studied art at Johannesburg Art School, then at Beckenham School of Art in Kent, and at St Martin's in London. His first published cartoon appeared in the ''

Cape Times The ''Cape Times'' is an English-language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media SA and published in Cape Town, South Africa. the newspaper had a daily readership of 261 000 and a circulation of 34 523. By the fourth quarter of ...

'' in 1951, and his first illustrated book, ''Under the Table Cloth'', was published in 1952. He later freelanced in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

as artist-cum-reporter, notably covering

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

's treason trial in 1958. In 1959 he returned to Britain with his family, his wife Aroon McConnell and daughter Peta, their two sons Warren & Vollmer, settling in Kent and joining the staff of ''The Guardian''. In 1963 he took over from David Low as political cartoonist. He also drew comic strips and produced pictorial reports, covering, for example, Cyprus in 1965 and the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

in 1967. Between 1964 and 1972 he also produced cartoons for the ''Sunday Times'' and ''Punch''. UC watercolor

In this period also began his association with

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, writing and illustrating books for both children and adults. As an illustrator he worked mostly in

pen and ink A pen is a common writing tool, writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a Nib (pen), nib or in a sm ...

, and once said "I prefer writing and illustrating children's books, especially on social and political themes. It is a form of elongated cartooning." He was divorced in 1969 and in 1970 married his second wife, Tessa Pares. He spent the next ten years in Greece, then moved to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and in 1984 to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, continuing to paint and illustrate. In Oregon he also ran his own art gallery and drew an evocative series of pen-and-ink and watercolour pictures of American cities, later published as ''Papas' America'' and ''Papas' Portland'' among others. Papas died at Hotnarko Lake,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, on 19 June 2000, following a flying accident.

Recognition

Papas was a commended runner up for the 1964, 1967, and 1968

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

s from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

, recognising the year's best work of children's book illustration by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. He garnered six commendations including one "for work in general" (unique to 1964) and five for particular 1967 and 1968 books published by

: ''The Church'' by Geoffrey Moorhouse; ''No Mules'', ''A Letter from India'', ''A Letter from Israel'', and ''Taresh the Tea Planter'', four that Papas both wrote and illustrated. Some of his cartoons were chosen for the 1970 National Portrait Gallery exhibition "Drawn and Quartered: the world of the British newspaper cartoon 1720–1970", and examples of his work are held in the permanent collections of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the Centre for the Study of Cartoons and Caricature at the

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'' ...

, the Vorres Museum (Athens) and the Old City Museum (Jerusalem).

Alan Coren Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz ''The News Quiz'' and a team captain on BBC television's ''Call My Bluff''. Coren was also a journalis ...

, former editor of ''Punch'', described Papas as "a highly distinguished original artist, whose work, I firmly believe, is not only of significance of its time, but will make an important contribution to the journalistic history of that time".Obituary from The Independent

Selected works

Written and illustrated

*''The Press'' (1964) *''The Law'' (1964) *''The Story of Mr. Nero'' (1965) *''Tasso'' (1966) *''No Mules'' (1967) *''Life Is One Big Bag of Nails'' (1968) *''A Letter from India'' (1968) *''A Letter from Israel'' (1968) *''Taresh the Tea Planter'' (1968) *''People of Old Jerusalem'' (1980) *''Papas' America'' (1987) *''Papas' The University Club of Portland'' (1993) * ''Papas' Portland'' (1995) * ''Papas' Greece'' (1997) * ''Instant Greek'' (1999)

Illustrated

Papas illustrated books written by more than a dozen people. * Aubrey Sussens: ''Under the Table Cloth'' (1952) * Charles Downing: ''Tales of the Hodja'' (1964) *

René Guillot René Paul Guillot (24 January 1900 – 26 March 1969) was a French writer of children's books who lived, worked and travelled in French West Africa. For his lasting contribution as a children's writer Guillot received the biennial Hans C ...

: ''The Children of the Wind'' (1964) *

Ruth Manning-Sanders Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...

: '' Damian and the Dragon: Modern Greek Folk-Tales'' (1965) * Philip Turner: '' The Grange at High Force'' (1965) *

Andrew Salkey Andrew Salkey (30 January 1928 – 28 April 1995) was a Jamaican novelist, poet, children's books writer and journalist of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Panamanian origin. He was born in Panama but raised in Jamaica, moving to Britain in the 1952 to pu ...

: ''Earthquake ''(1965) *

Hesba Fay Brinsmead Hesba Fay Brinsmead (''Hesba Fay Hungerford''; 15 March 1922 in Berambing, New South Wales – 24 November 2003 in Murwillumbah) was an Australian author of children's books and an environmentalist. Biography Upbringing Brinsmead's parents, ...

: ''Season of the Briar'' (1965); ''Beat of the City'' (1966) *

Geoffrey Moorhouse Geoffrey Moorhouse, FRGS, FRSL, D.Litt. (29 November 1931 – 26 November 2009) was an English journalist and author. He was born Geoffrey Heald in Bolton and took his stepfather's surname. He attended Bury Grammar School. He began writing as a ...

, ''The Church'' (1967) * H. M. Nahmad: ''The Peasant and the Donkey: Tales of the Near and Middle East'' (1968) * Fynn (pseudonym of Sydney Hopkins): ''

Mister God, This Is Anna ''Mister God, This Is Anna'' is a book by Sydney Hopkins under the pseudonym "Fynn" describing the adventures of Anna, a mischievous yet wise four-year-old whom Fynn finds as a runaway. Nineteen-year-old Fynn takes Anna home to his mother, who ta ...

'' (1974) *

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

: ''In a Valley of This Restless Mind'' (1977) *

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

: ''

Illustrissimi ''Illustrissimi'', or "''To the Illustrious Ones''", is a collection of letters written by Pope John Paul I when he was Patriarch of Venice. The letters were originally published in the Italian Christian paper ''Messaggero di S. Antonio'' between ...

'' (1978) *

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

: ''

The Screwtape Letters ''The Screwtape Letters'' is a Christian apologetic novel by C. S. Lewis and dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien. It is written in a satirical, epistolary style and while it is fictional in format, the plot and characters are used to address Christi ...

'' (1979, orig. 1942) *

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

: ''Soumchi'' (1980) * Aurelia Smeltz: ''A Lone Red Apple'' (1998)

Notes

References

External links

Biography at Papasart.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papas, William 1927 births 2000 deaths Accidental deaths in British Columbia British illustrators British caricaturists Child soldiers in World War II Deaths by drowning in Canada The Guardian journalists Punch (magazine) people The Sunday Times people South African people of Greek descent South African artists White South African people People from Ermelo, Mpumalanga South African Air Force personnel of World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2000