Ronald Searle, St. Trinians (A pair)
Ronald Searle (British, 1920 – 2011)
St. Trinians
one signed with initials ‘RS’ (lower right)
8 x 2.1/2in. (20.3 x 6.3cm.)
A pair
Searle's spindly cartoons of the naughty schoolgirls for St. Trinians first appeared in 1941, before the idea was adapted for film.
The first movie version, The Belles of St Trinian's, was released in 1954. Joyce Grenfell and George Cole starred in the film, along with Alastair Sim, who appeared in drag as headmistress Millicent Fritton.
Searle also provided illustrations the Molesworth series, written by Geoffrey Willans.
The gothic, line-drawn cartoons breathed life into the gruesome pupils of St Custard's school, in particular the outspoken, but functionally-illiterate Nigel Molesworth "the goriller of 3B".
Searle's work regularly appeared in magazines and newspapers, including Punch and The New Yorker.
Aside from his schoolday stories, he was a savage satirist, and some of his darker material was informed by his time as a prisoner of war during World War II. There, he worked on the infamous "Railway of Death" - a Japanese project to create a rail link between Thailand and Burma, the construction of which led to the death of more than 100,000 labourers, including 16,000 Allied prisoners. Some of the work he created whilst being held captive is displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Ronald Searle (British, 1920 – 2011)
St. Trinians
one signed with initials ‘RS’ (lower right)
8 x 2.1/2in. (20.3 x 6.3cm.)
A pair
Searle's spindly cartoons of the naughty schoolgirls for St. Trinians first appeared in 1941, before the idea was adapted for film.
The first movie version, The Belles of St Trinian's, was released in 1954. Joyce Grenfell and George Cole starred in the film, along with Alastair Sim, who appeared in drag as headmistress Millicent Fritton.
Searle also provided illustrations the Molesworth series, written by Geoffrey Willans.
The gothic, line-drawn cartoons breathed life into the gruesome pupils of St Custard's school, in particular the outspoken, but functionally-illiterate Nigel Molesworth "the goriller of 3B".
Searle's work regularly appeared in magazines and newspapers, including Punch and The New Yorker.
Aside from his schoolday stories, he was a savage satirist, and some of his darker material was informed by his time as a prisoner of war during World War II. There, he worked on the infamous "Railway of Death" - a Japanese project to create a rail link between Thailand and Burma, the construction of which led to the death of more than 100,000 labourers, including 16,000 Allied prisoners. Some of the work he created whilst being held captive is displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Ronald Searle (British, 1920 – 2011)
St. Trinians
one signed with initials ‘RS’ (lower right)
8 x 2.1/2in. (20.3 x 6.3cm.)
A pair
Searle's spindly cartoons of the naughty schoolgirls for St. Trinians first appeared in 1941, before the idea was adapted for film.
The first movie version, The Belles of St Trinian's, was released in 1954. Joyce Grenfell and George Cole starred in the film, along with Alastair Sim, who appeared in drag as headmistress Millicent Fritton.
Searle also provided illustrations the Molesworth series, written by Geoffrey Willans.
The gothic, line-drawn cartoons breathed life into the gruesome pupils of St Custard's school, in particular the outspoken, but functionally-illiterate Nigel Molesworth "the goriller of 3B".
Searle's work regularly appeared in magazines and newspapers, including Punch and The New Yorker.
Aside from his schoolday stories, he was a savage satirist, and some of his darker material was informed by his time as a prisoner of war during World War II. There, he worked on the infamous "Railway of Death" - a Japanese project to create a rail link between Thailand and Burma, the construction of which led to the death of more than 100,000 labourers, including 16,000 Allied prisoners. Some of the work he created whilst being held captive is displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London.
