In June, 1900, there appeared in _Vanity Fair_ the drawing of
Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, whom I sketched in helmet and khaki, with
a suggestion of Oom Paul introduced in a boulder in the background.
This cartoon, on account of the subject, beat the record for
popularity, and its sale exceeded that of all other cartoons in
_Vanity Fair_. Later on, when the Commander-in-Chief came to my studio
to give me a sitting for the drawing which appeared in _The World_, he
told me that copies of this _Vanity Fair_ cartoon had come to him from
all parts with a request for him to sign it.
In the Christmas number of _Vanity Fair_ Lord Roberts was prominent
again as the central figure of "A General Group," which contained
portraits of Sir Redvers Buller, Lord Kitchener, General Hunter,
General French, General Pole-Carew, Sir George White, Lord Dundonald,
General Baden-Powell, Colonel Plumer, Sir Frederick Carrington, and
General Hector Macdonald. It was a difficult subject to imagine, but
it worked out satisfactorily as I was familiar with nearly all in the
group.
About this time I made my mental notes for the _Vanity Fair_ drawing
of Archbishop Temple in St. Paul's Cathedral. The prelate had then
become almost blind, and had to be conducted to and from the pulpit.
Some years later I went to Lambeth Palace to sketch the present
Archbishop (Dr. Randall Davidson). I was received by his charming
wife, and when I got into conversation with the Archbishop he talked
to me of his old friend, and said, "One of the best portraits I have
ever seen of Archbishop Temple is that one hanging on the wall; I
don't know who did it." "Oh, I'm so very pleased that you think that,"
I replied, "because you will find my signature there, and I did it
entirely from observation after a visit to St. Paul's."
[Illustration: THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, DR. TEMPLE 1902]
At the official residence of the Bishop of Stepney, 2, Amen Court, in
the precincts of St. Paul's Cathedral, I sketched both the Bishop of
London and the present Archbishop of York at the time when each ruled
over the see of Stepney. When sketching Dr. Winnington-Ingram again,
as Bishop of London, for _The World_, he came to my studio, and was
extremely friendly and entertaining as a sitter. It was about the time
of my marriage that my drawing of Canon Fleming appeared in _Vanity
Fair_. Of course I knew his face very well indeed. He was the
kindest-looking of men, and the cartoon eventually came into the
possession of his family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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