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Frederick Joss (15 November 1908 – 22 April 1967) was a political caricaturist, satirist, cartoonist, author and adventurer. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
and also awarded the French Officer of the Légion of Honneur.


Biography


Early years

Frederick Joss was born in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
as ''Fritz Josefovics'' to Adolf and Fanny. He studied at the renowned Arts & Crafts School of the Austrian State Museum in Vienna. His elder brother Carl was a fellow student. He travelled widely in his youth, through Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and Scandinavia. Aged 19, he became editor and cartoonist of a local newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, ''
Jornal do Brasil ''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the ''Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Esta ...
''. Joss was expelled from
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
for his socialist views and also spent a short spell in a Spanish prison. By 1932 at the age of 25, he had returned to Vienna and was publishing ''Wiener Post''.


Family

Joss had two daughters with Clara: Barbara, b. 1937, and Lisa, b. 1942. Joss's brother, Carl Josefovics, was a stage set designer.


England and "Joss of The Star"

In 1933 Joss arrived in England, along with many other important figures of the time including fellow Jew, Albert Einstein. He was shortly followed by his wife Clara, who also studied at the university in Vienna. In 1934 Joss secured himself a job as a cartoonist and current affairs caricaturist for '' The Star'', one of London's three evening newspapers. He became known as "Joss of The Star" and officially changed his name from ''Fritz Josefovics'' to ''Frederick Joss'' in 1940. He built up a keen following over the subsequent 21 years. His ''Daily Round'' ''by Joss'' (topical cartoons in large format) and his ''Lightning Sketches'' (sketches and commentaries on VIPs) were popular features. He was also sent to cover European political meetings and conferences, particularly in Geneva, and his pen portraits of key players regularly landed on the front page. In 1938 he wrote a novel entitled ''Amateurs in Arms'', which he published under the pen name of FJ Joseph. The same year he illustrated a publication entitled ''Blackmail or War'' by Genevieve Tabouis. He also worked during this period for the British Intelligence, simultaneously translating Hitler's broadcasts.


World War II and "Denim"

With the outbreak of World War Two, a new persona was born. Joss joined the army in 1942, serving as a gunner in the Royal Artillery. Out of the transformation from Joss to Gunner Joss, "Denim", a new pseudonym was born. '''The Star's Daily Round by Denim took on the form of small pocket-sized cartoons on sheets of airmail paper drawn with a fountain pen and blue pencil, which he carried in the field-dressing packet of his denims.


Post-War, the Cold War and the UN

On his return from active service, ''Joss of the Star'' resumed once more, and an additional Saturday strip of five cartoons entitled '''Round Up also appeared which was a comical comment on the news of the week. Annual Joss cartoon booklets were published in a similar format to those for Denim, containing 200 cartoons; the pick of each year. Joss was frequently asked to cover delegations for the Cold War and the UN, including the post war peace conference chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. ''The Star'' continued to send him to Geneva, Paris and elsewhere to record the figures at the top-flight political meetings of the day. ''The Star'' also sent Joss all over the British Isles to report back. This included series of drawings from particular towns, royal garden parties and sporting events such as Wimbledon.


Moving in artistic circles

Alongside Joss, other strong artists were emerging at ''The Star.'' Leslie Grimes was one of these names. Other artists included Wyndham Robinson, also a political cartoonist, and Roy Ullyet (d. 2001) a sports cartoonist and commentator, with whom Joss shared a studio. Joss also mixed with many other artists in different circles, beyond that of the newspaper, and he enjoyed long friendships with Oscar Kokoschka and the cartoonist Vicky (
Victor Weisz Victor Weisz (25 April 1913 in Berlin, Germany – 23 February 1966 in London, England) was a German-British political cartoonist, drawing under the name of Vicky. Biography Weisz was born in Berlin, Germany, to Hungarian-Jewish parents. He s ...
). Joss often attended theatre opening nights and film premiers in his role as "Joss of The Star" and produced many caricatures of famous actors of the day. This extended to directors, musicians, singers and writers too. His caricature of
Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...
in costume ran on the front page heralding her discovery in the play. He was also there to record the first black dance company in Europe,
Les Ballets Nègres Les Ballets Nègres was Europe's first black dance company, founded in 1946 by Jamaican dancers Berto Pasuka and Richie Riley (dancer), Ritchie Riley, along with brother and sister dancers Tony and Pearl Johnson. Berto Pasuka (1911-1963, original n ...
, formed in 1946.


Travels abroad

Travel was a constant in Joss's life and he enjoyed all modes of transport – jets, cargo ships, trains, ponies and often on foot. He produced many pen and brush "travelogues" of lands and peoples. In the 1950s, he travelled to India, sketching political figures as well as common people, and on his return exhibited his work at the Leger Galleries (where he had previously shown with the cartoonist
Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and f ...
) as well as regularly filing reports for
ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...
magazine, then titled Art News and Review.Letter from India, Art News and Review, Vol 7, no. 14. When in India, Joss also met Abu Abrahim, who later came to London to work for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' for several years as a cartoonist.


Later years

Joss left ''The Star'' in 1955 and worked as a freelance artist. He suffered a period of severe depression and hospitalisation, during which his wife, Clara, died. Following his incarceration, Joss left England for the Far East. In Japan he began to draw and paint again in the area he referred to as "the sacred hills of Kyoto". On his travels to Korea he met and married a young Korean teacher, Jin Song, and had a daughter. Joss died in 1967, aged 58, falling from one of the highest floors of the Hilton Hotel in Hong Kong, then the site of the Foreign Correspondents Club.


Further reading

''Joss. A Life Less Ordinary'' by Nicola Tyler and James Glennie, Art & Antiques Appraisals Ltd


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joss, Frederick 1908 births 1967 deaths Journalists from Vienna Austrian caricaturists Austrian editorial cartoonists Austrian political artists Austrian magazine editors Austrian magazine illustrators Austrian satirists 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male painters Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Austrian male artists 20th-century Austrian illustrators