Gerald Scarfe (Born 1936)
Gerald Scarfe was born in St John's Wood, London on 1 June 1936. On leaving school he worked in his uncle's commercial art studio, while developing his drawing in classes at St Martin's School of Art and, later, the London School of Printing. In 1957, he had his first cartoons accepted by the Daily Sketch and, three years later, began to contribute to Punch and the Evening Standard. However, it was as a contributor to the newly founded Private Eye that he was fully able to establish his identity as a draughtsman. In 1964, The Sunday Times Magazine sent him to cover the Goldwater-Johnson elections in the USA, and he worked in the country intermittently for two years.
Similar reportage projects were undertaken for the Daily Mail (Vietnam 1966) and again for The Sunday Times.
Immediately recognised as one of the country's leading political cartoonists, he soon developed many talents and has worked in many media, including animated film and theatrical design. He had an exhibition of papier - mache models at the National Portrait Gallery, and was given a major retrospective at the Royal Festival Hall in 1983. These were followed by two important shows at Chris Beetles' gallery. That held in 1988 coincided with the publication of Scarfe's Line of Attack and was his first ever selling show. Its popular sequel was a riotous celebration of 'Scarfeland', involving Scarfe's own wild redecoration of the gallery space. Scarfe directed award - winning documentaries for television, as well as illustrating albums and producing animations and stage props for Pink Floyd.
