May, Phil

Phil May (1864-1903) was a tremendous British cartoonist, who was influential to a generation of cartoonists. Billy DeBeck was a huge fan, and had Fred Lasswell practice copying May's work. May was of the less-is-more school, and was very important to the transition from realistic illustration to more contour line based cartooning. There were many, many books and annuals devoted to May's work, with none more important than his 1896 book "Guttersnipes",which captured the street urchins in their environments.

Phil May unfortunately had a bad drinking problem, which led to his death in 1903.

This gallery is in honor of my old friend Sy Schechter, who introduced me to Phil May's art many, many years ago.