John Wilson Bengough
| John Wilson Bengough | |
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 John Wilson Bengough |
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| Born | 7 April 1851 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 2 October 1923 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | newspaper cartoonist |
| Notable award(s) | Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame |
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Influences
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John Wilson Bengough (
/ˈbɛn.ɡɔːf/,[1] 7 April 1851 – 2 October 1923) was one of Canada's first cartoonists, as well as an editor, publisher, author, entertainer and politician.
Bengough is best known for his biting political cartoons which ran in Grip, a humour magazine he published and edited which was modeled after Punch.
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[edit] Personal history
He was born in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, to John Bengough, a Scottish immigrant cabinetmaker, and Margaret Wilson, an Irish immigrant. He grew up in nearby Whitby, where he was sent to common and grammar schools, then articled to a lawyer for some time. After learning something of the printing trade at the Whitby Gazette, he moved to Toronto and became a junior reporter on George Brown's newspaper, the Toronto Globe.[2]
He first worked as a cartoonist for the Globe in 1871. He rose to prominence when, at the age of 22, he founded Grip, which he published and edited out of Toronto in starting May 24, 1873. Grip was a weekly humour magazine that carried jokes, satires and cartoons about a broad variety of topics, and Bengough was the dominant contributor. It was likely modeled after the British Punch, a humour magazine that ran cartoons by John Tenniel, whom Bengough particularly admired. Bengough's cartoons also showed the marked influence of the American Thomas Nast, of Harper's Weekly.[2]
After the early 1890s depression drove Grip to cease publication, he worked for the next quarter-century as a newspaper cartoonist for the Toronto Globe, Toronto Daily Star, Saturday Night and the Montreal Star.
Bengough died of a heart attack at his drawing board at his home while working on a cartoon in support of an anti-smoking campaign.[2]
[edit] Cartoons
Bengough's cartooning was for the most part in the realm of political cartoons, and tended towards being preachy and didactic. He believed "that the legitimate forces of humor and caricature can and ought to serve the state in its highest interests, and that the comic journal which has no other aim than to amuse its readers for the moment, falls short of its highest mission".[2]
His sketchy cartoons, while often well drawn, were crowded in composition, and sometimes were borrowed from other sources. He could draw in contrasting styles, though, as evidenced by some cartoons he did under the pseudonym of L. Côté.[2]
His cartoons are best remembered for fixing his renditions of Sir John A. Macdonald in the public imagination.[2]
[edit] Politics
Bengough was mostly associated with the Liberal Party of Canada, and had ambitions to run for Parliament, but was Wilfred Laurier convinced him against it. Grip's political stance was one of disinterest, but a large portion of Bengough's income came from Liberal publications, and Sir John A. Macdonald and his Conservative Party were favourite targets of Bengoughs cartoon attacks, notably during the Pacific Scandal.[2]
Bengough showed a marked ethnic nationalism, in that he promoted English as the nation's sole official language, and the separation of church and state, a view that was directed particularly at the Catholic, French-speaking Québecois, declaring he looked forward to:
when the monstrosity of a double official language and dual schools will be done away with throughout the whole country. Our real national life will date from that day.—John Wilson Bengough, [2]
While he sympathized with the plight of Canada's native peoples, he condemned the 1885 Red River Rebellion and called for the execution of Métis rebel leader Louis Riel, and celebrated Major-General Frederick Dobson Middleton's victory at the Battle of Batoche in Saskatchewan with a poem.[2]
[edit] Personal life
He was married twice—first to Helena (Nellie) Siddall in Toronto on June 30, 1880, then later to Annie Robertson Matteson in Chicago on June 18, 1908. Neither marriage produced any children.[2]
[edit] Legacy
The small town of Bengough, Saskatchewan, close to the U.S. border in Canada, is named after him.
The Art Gallery of Ontario presented an exhibition of Bengough's drawings in 1969.
Bengough was inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame in 2005.[3]
[edit] Published works
- A Caricature History of Canadian Politics. Events From the Union of 1841, As Illustrated by Cartoons From "Grip", and Various Other Sources (1886) by John Wilson Bengough.
- Puffe and Co. (c. 1900) by J. W. Bengough.
- On True Political Economy (1908) by J. W. Bengough.
- Life and Work of J.W. Bengough (No date), by Thomas Bengough.
[edit] Further reading
- Kutcher, Stanley Paul. John Wilson Bengough: Artist of Righteousness. McMaster University, 1975
- Cumming, Carman. Sketches from a Young Country: The Images of 'Grip' Magazine. University of Toronto Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-802-07646-5
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Wilson Bengough |
[edit] References
- ^ H-net online
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cook, Ramsay. "BENGOUGH, JOHN WILSON". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7896. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
- ^ "First Ever Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning Handed Out In Toronto". Designtaxi. 2005-06-06. http://designtaxi.com/news/525/First-Ever-Doug-Wright-Awards-for-Canadian-Cartooning-Handed-Out-In-Toronto/. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
