Twenty-six drawings, designs for posters, book illustrations, covers and cartoons by the cartoonist Fougasse
[c.1923–54]
Cyril Kenneth Bird (1887-1965) was born in London and studied engineering at Kings College, London. On active service in the First World War he was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915 and returned to Britain. No longer fit to work as a civil engineer he turned to drawing, in which he had been interested since his school-days, adopting the name "Fougasse", French for an exploding mine which might go off or not - he thought the same applied to his cartoons. His work first appeared in Punch in 1916 and in 1937 he became Editor of the magazine. He also designed posters (of which "Careless talk costs lives" is the best known) and illustrated books with his economical line drawings. These sketches give an excellent impression of Fougasse's incisive humour and talent as a cartoonist.
- Collection Owner
- Fougasse 1887–1965
- Collection
- Tate Archive
- Acquisition
- The drawings were presented to the Tate Gallery Archive in 1977 by the artist's widow, Mrs C.K. Bird.
- Reference
- TGA 7712
26 objects in this collection
- Title
- Twenty-six drawings, designs for posters, book illustrations, covers and cartoons by the cartoonist Fougasse
- Date
- [c.1923–54]
- Description
Cyril Kenneth Bird (1887-1965) was born in London and studied engineering at Kings College, London. On active service in the First World War he was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915 and returned to Britain. No longer fit to work as a civil engineer he turned to drawing, in which he had been interested since his school-days, adopting the name "Fougasse", French for an exploding mine which might go off or not - he thought the same applied to his cartoons. His work first appeared in Punch in 1916 and in 1937 he became Editor of the magazine. He also designed posters (of which "Careless talk costs lives" is the best known) and illustrated books with his economical line drawings. These sketches give an excellent impression of Fougasse's incisive humour and talent as a cartoonist.- Reference
- TGA 7712
