William James Affleck Shepherd (1866–1946) was an English illustrator and cartoonist, known mainly for anthropomorphic animal drawings. He rarely used his first forename – most of his works are simply signed "J.A.S."
Life
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Shepherd, the son of a cigar importer, was born on 29 November 1866 in Pimlico, London[1] and died in Cirencester, Gloucestershire in 1946.[2]
Shepherd did not receive any formal art training. For three years he worked under the direction of Alfred Bryan on the Moonshine satirical magazine.[3] In 1893 he joined the staff of Punch.[4] He also worked for The Strand magazine, the Illustrated London News and other periodicals.
He was a fellow of the Zoological Society and enjoyed the outdoor life. He underlined the importance of animals to him in a remark: "There are only two things I love in my life – my mother and my raven." This was before his marriage in 1897.[5] Shepherd was the maternal grandfather of David Sheppard (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005), Bishop of Liverpool and a Test cricketer.
Publications
editin 1897 Shepherd produced the children's picture book "Zig Zag Fables", which the Disney animator Andreas Deja has cited as an influence.[6] In 1926 "A Frolic around the Zoo" appeared, featuring the adventures of Blinx, a stray cat, and Bunda, an escaped monkey. He illustrated many books and was a contributor to The Rosebud annuals, which were renowned for their illustrations by Louis Wain.
References
edit- ^ free BMD Births Mar Q 1867 St. Geo. H. Sq. 1a 282 SHEPHERD William James A,
- ^ free BMD Deaths Jun Q 1946 Cirencester 6a 495 SHEPHERD William J A Age 79
- ^ "Chris Beetles Gallery".
- ^ Christopher Wood, The Dictionary of Victorian Painters, ISBN 0902028723, p. 426.
- ^ Artists of the Strand Magazine, Vol. 10, December 1895
- ^ "Deja View: James Affleck Shepherd". 3 September 2013.