David Henry Souter (1862-1935) was a cartoonist, painter and art editor. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, he trained as a painter and decorator and then as an artist. After working as a newspaper illustrator in Scotland and South Africa he arrived in Melbourne in 1885, moving permanently to Sydney in 1897. Soon after, he founded the Brush Club, and was associated in the ensuing years with the first Council of the Society of Artists. His first cartoon for the Bulletin appeared in February 1895; the sinuous black and white cat that was to become his hallmark first appeared in a cartoon in July of that year. Over the next forty years he produced cartoons in style that might loosely be described as art nouveau, typically depicting prosperous urban couples bantering about sex and money, with the cat a slinking spy on the scene. In 1906 the cats appeared on a range of Doulton ware. Between 1904 and 1911 Souter was art editor for the pioneering art journal Art and Architecture. His work is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Doug Hall 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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