Artist

John Tenniel

Portrait of John Tenniel
Portrait of John Tenniel

British, 1820–1914

John Tenniel was a British Impressionism artist. 5 works are cataloged here, principally at Victoria and Albert Museum. John Tenniel was born in London.

Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 1820 – 25 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knighted for artistic achievements in 1893, the first such honour ever bestowed on an illustrator or cartoonist. According to the V&A, "his intelligent, detailed style elevated the fame and standing of cartoonists immeasurably."

Tenniel is remembered mainly as a political cartoonist for Punch magazine for over 50 years (he joined the satirical magazine in 1850 and became its chief cartoonist in 1864) and for his illustrations to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). Tenniel's detailed black-and-white drawings remain the definitive depiction of the Alice characters, with comic book illustrator and writer Bryan Talbot stating, "Carroll never describes the Mad Hatter: our image of him is pure Tenniel."

Works by John Tenniel

Collections represented

Catalog records compiled from museum open-access collections; the artworks shown are in the public domain. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.