Richard ‘Dicky’ Doyle

Richard Doyle (not to be confused with actor Richard Doyle) was an english illustrator active during the Victorian Era. Much of his work was featured in Punch Magazine. He designed the magazine’s masthead, which was used for the next century, and illustrated the first ever front cover. He was born in London, and was one of the seven children of the cartoonist John Doyle, known for his political caricatures. Richard Doyle was fascinated with fairytales from a young age, and also proved to be a gifted illustrator. He finished his first fully illustrated book, titled “Home for the Holidays”, at age twelve. The book was then published in 1887.

Doyle’s design for the cover of Punch magazine.

At age 19, he joined the staff of Punch magazine, and worked there for seven years thereafter. Doyle also illustrated books and stories for notable authors such as Charles Dickens, and was himself an uncle to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous creator of the Sherlock Holmes series.

In 1846 Doyle illustrated The Fairy Ring, which was a new translation of Grimm’s tales). From this he became well-known as a fairytale illustrator. Some fairytale creatures that frequently appeared in his work were elves, delicate fairies, and pixies.

An elf and a fairy kissing, from In Fairy Land(1870)

Doyle’s principal series of illustrations were those for The Newcomes,  The King of the Golden River, and The Foreign Tour of Brown, Jones and Robinson. Considered his masterpiece is In Fairyland, a series of Pictures from the Elf World, accompanied by a poem by William Allingham.

Illustration by Richard Doyle for Jack and the Giants

While Richard Doyle was a talented fantastical illustrator who produced images both in colour and in black and white, he had a reputation as being “brilliant but unreliable”. He was often late in meeting deadlines for The Newcomes, and only finished the work when threatened to be replaced. His illustrations were often inconsistent in quality as he rushed through them. His excuses for not finishing his work on time were often ridiculous and flimsy, and this negatively affected his career and success.

image from Princess Nobody (1884), illustrated by Doyle, engraved and coloured by Edmund Evans.

Cited:

Wikipedia, Richard Doyle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Doyle_(illustrator)

Illustration History, Richard Doyle: https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/richard-dicky-doyle

The Victorian Web, Richard Doyle: http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/doyle/bio.html

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