Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator and collaborator with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman draws

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

political cartoons A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

, social caricatures, and picture books.

Early life

Steadman was born in

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

, Cheshire to an English father, Lionel Raphael Steadman, and a Welsh mother, Gwendoline; the family moved to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

towards the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Steadman attended the Grammar School in

Abergele Abergele (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county b ...

in north Wales but hated the draconian, sadistic new headmaster and left aged 16. "I couldn't wait to get out," he said. He came from a

lower middle class In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the middle or u ...

background; his father was a commercial traveller and his mother was a shop assistant at T J Hughes in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Steadman took his first job at 16 as a RADAR Operator at the

De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

aircraft factory in the border town of Broughton near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

but only remained for nine months, finding factory life repetitive and dull, and becoming fed up with fellow employees, citing persistent cruel practical jokes ("They were always putting stuff in your tea"); however, whilst there he became skilled in technical drawing, thus sowing the seeds of his future career. Steadman returned to England after

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in 1954 and found work in London as a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

. Wishing to accelerate his progress he enrolled in 1959 at East Ham Technical College and the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

during the 1960s, doing freelance work for '' Punch'', ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' during this time.

Career

Collaborations with Hunter S. Thompson

Steadman had a long partnership with the American journalist Hunter S. Thompson, drawing pictures for several of his articles and books. He accompanied Thompson to the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

for an article for the magazine '' Scanlan's'', to the

Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon (branded JAL Honolulu Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km) in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was first held on December 16, 1973, and it typically takes places on the second Sunday in December. The ma ...

for the magazine ''Running'', and illustrated both '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and '' Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.'' Steadman has expressed regret at selling the original illustrations for ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' at the advice of his agent to ''Rolling Stone'' founder

Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American businessman who co-founded the popular culture magazine ''Rolling Stone'' with Ralph J. Gleason and is the former owner of '' Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free S ...

for the sum of $75, a fraction of their later value. As a result of that transaction Steadman has largely refused to sell any of his original artwork and has been quoted as saying "If anyone owns a Steadman original, it's stolen." While there are original pieces held outside of his archive, they are exceedingly rare. The artist has kept possession of the vast bulk of his original artwork. Steadman appears on the second disc of

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

'' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' DVD set, in a documentary called '' Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision'', which was made by the BBC in 1978, of Thompson planning the tower and cannon that his ashes were later blasted out of. The cannon was atop a 153-ft. tower of Thompson's fist gripping a

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. ...

button; Thompson demands that Steadman gives the fist two thumbs, "Right now."

Other illustration work

As well as writing and illustrating his own books and Thompson's, Steadman has worked with writers including

Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...

, Adrian Mitchell and Brian Patten, and also illustrated editions of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', '' Treasure Island'', ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...

'', the English translation of Flann O'Brien's Gaelic-language classic '' The Poor Mouth'', and most recently, ''

Fahrenheit 451 ''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...

''. Steadman has drawn album covers for numerous music artists, including

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, Exodus,

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek mythology, Greek myths, ambrosia (, ) is the food or drink of the Greek gods, and is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Mount Olympus, Olympus by do ...

, and the lead banner for the

gonzo journalism Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to descri ...

website GonzoToday.com. Among the British public, Steadman is well known for his illustrations for the catalogues of the off-licence chain Oddbins. In 1985, Steadman designed a set of four British postage stamps to commemorate the appearance that year of

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

. Steadman has illustrated

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English writer, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Se ...

's column in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper. Steadman has contributed to the

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

's Preventing Extinctions programme with an image of

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

northern bald ibis. In 2014, Steadman created the artwork for a series of limited edition

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

SteelBook DVDs. These works were the subject of an exhibition at 71a Gallery in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

in February 2015. In 2016 Steadman did the cover art for Anthony Bourdain's '' Appetites: A Cookbook''. In 2017, Steadman penned the artwork for Travis Scott and Quavo's joint project '' Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho''. In 2019, Steadman created the artwork for

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

's Broadway show '' Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus''. In 2020, Steadman created the artwork for the documentary film '' Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb'' which follows journalist Hunter S. Thompson and his 1970 campaign for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado.

Beer labels and freedom of speech

Steadman has designed label art for Flying Dog beer and designed the V logo used on Flying Dog's packaging since 1995. The Logo includes an original motto by Steadman: "Good Beer No Shit". Because of this, and because of Steadman's controversial label art for the craft brewery's Road Dog ale and Doggie Style ale, a complaint of obscenity was filed against Flying Dog. The Colorado State Liquor Board then had Flying Dog beers pulled from store shelves. Flying Dog and the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

sued the state of Colorado while the displayed motto was changed to "Good Beer No Censorship." In 2001, the Colorado Supreme Court entered final judgment in favor of Flying Dog, based on the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...

, (freedom of speech). In 2009, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission banned Flying Dog's "Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA" beer, partly for the name and partly for Steadman's label art. In 2015, the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals struck down the ban on first amendment grounds and recommended civil damages against the state of Michigan. In an article since deleted from its website, Flying Dog stated that its Cardinal "Spiced" Zin' wine was banned in Ohio for Steadman's "disturbing" interpretation of a Catholic cardinal on its label. In 2018, Flying Dog received a complaint in the UK about the packaging of its "Easy IPA" reduced-alcohol beer. The complaint partially involved Steadman's label art, depicting a tipsy cartoon character. The

Portman Group The Portman Group is a trade group composed of alcoholic beverage producers and brewing industry, brewers in the United Kingdom, UK. History It was set up in 1989 as part of a campaign to raise awareness on alcohol (drug), alcohol-related issu ...

, a third-party organization which evaluates alcohol-related marketing in the UK, has accepted the complaint's allegation that the artwork "could be seen as encouraging drunkenness", particularly among minors, and has issued an advisory. In 2021, Flying Dog sued the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for violation of free speech provisions after the NC ABC rejected the label for the brewery's "Freezin' Season" beer as "inappropriate".

Music and writing

In 1980, Steadman wrote a 57-second song "Sweetest Love (Lament after a Broken Sashcord on a Theme by

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

)" for an album he was illustrating, ''Miniatures: A Sequence of Fifty-One Tiny Masterpieces'' (edited by Morgan Fisher), on Pipe Records. Steadman sang the song to Fisher's harmonium accompaniment. In 1999, Steadman wrote the lyrics for Richard Harvey's choral album ''Plague and the Moonflower'', on Altus Records. Also in 1999, Steadman released an anthology album of his "favourite music", on EMI Records, entitled ''I Like It''. Two pieces of his own music are included, "Weird & Twisted Nights" (listed as a collaboration with Hunter S. Thompson and someone named Mc Dean) and "Sweetest Love I Do Not Go" (the same 57-second piece he released in 1980). The album comes with a "songbook", which has text by Steadman. Hal Willner and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

's 2006 anthology of songs, '' Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys'' contains two contributions from Steadman. He sings lead on "Little Boy Billee" and sings backing vocals for Eliza Carthy on "Rolling Sea". In 2011, Steadman began running prose and poetry in ''Kotori Magazine''. In 2015, Steadman released a 7-inch vinyl single on Philthy Phonograph Records, "The Man Who Woke Up in the Dark" B/w "Striped Paint". In 2020, Chronicle Chroma published the definitive book on Steadman's work and career, ''A Life in Ink'' by Ralph Steadman.

Awards

Ralph_Steadman_-_imagined_blue_plaque_-_house_on_the_New_Kings_Road_London_SW6

Awards that he has won for his work include the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award for ''

'', the American Society of Illustrators' Certificate of Merit, the W H Smith Illustration Award for ''I Leonardo'', the Dutch Silver Paintbrush Award for ''Inspector Mouse'', the Italian Critica in Erba Prize for ''That's My Dad'', the BBC Design Award for postage stamps, the Black Humour Award in France, and several Designers and Art Directors Association Awards. He was voted Illustrator of the Year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1979.

Film documentary

A major documentary about Steadman's career, '' For No Good Reason'', directed by Charlie Paul, played at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. ''The Fifth Estate (film), The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and ''Life of Crime (film), Life o ...

in the "Mavericks" programme. The film, reportedly 15 years in the making, played in New York City and Los Angeles in December 2013, and was given US domestic release in spring 2014. The film was in competition for the Grierson Award for Best Documentary at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival.

Personal life

Steadman is a member of the Chelsea Arts Club. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators. Steadman lives in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. His second wife, Anna, died in February 2022. He has five children.

Selected works

* ''The Little Red Computer'' (1968) * ''Still Life with Raspberry or the Bumper Book of Steadman'' (1969) * " The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" (1970) (written by Hunter S. Thompson) * '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (1971) (written by Hunter S. Thompson) * ''Two Donkeys and a Bridge'' (1972) * '' Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72'' (1973) (written by Hunter S. Thompson) * ''America'' (1974) * ''Cherrywood Cannon'', based on a story told by Dmitri Sidjanski, Paddington Press (1978) * ''Emergency Mouse'' (1978) (written by Bernard Stone) * ''Who is Eddie Linden?'' (1979) (biography of poet Eddie Linden, written by Sebastian Barker) * '' The Curse of Lono'' (1983) (written by Hunter S. Thompson) * ''Inspector Mouse'' (1980) (written by Bernard Stone) * '' Road Island (album)'' (1982) by

Ambrosia (band) Ambrosia is an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1970. Ambrosia had five Top 40 hit singles released between 1975 and 1980, including the Top 5 hits "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me", and Top 20 hits "You're the On ...

* ''I Leonardo'' (1983) * ''No Good Dogs'' (1983) * '' Sir Henry at N'didi's Kraal'' ( Vivian Stanshall) * ''Quasimodo Mouse'' (1984) (written by Bernard Stone) * '' Treasure Island'' (1985) (written by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

) * ''That's My Dad'' (1986) * ''The Complete Alice'' (1986) (''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...

'' and '' The Hunting of the Snark'', written by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

) * '' Withnail and I'' (1987) * ''The Crazy Never Die!'' by Mitchell Brothers Film Group (1988) * ''The Big I Am'' (1988) * ''No Room to Swing a Cat'' (1989) * ''Near the Bone'' (1990) * ''Tales of the Weirrd'' (1990) * ''The Grapes of Ralph: Wine according to Ralph Steadman'' (1992) * ''Still Life with Bottle: Whisky according to Ralph Steadman'' (1994) * ''Teddy! Where Are You?'' (1995) * ''

'' (1995) (written by

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

) * ''The Poor Mouth'' (1996) – English translation of the 1941 novel '' An Béal Bocht'' * ''Heart on the Left'' (1997) * '' Have I Offended Someone?'' (1997) (

compilation) * ''Sigmund Freud'' (1997) * ''The Mildenhall Treasure'' (2000) (written by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

) * ''Gonzo: The Art of Ralph Steadman'' (1998); also known as ''Gonzo the Art'' * "Doodaaa: The Balletic Art of Gavin Twinge" (Bloomsbury, 2002) * '' The Devil's Dictionary'' (2004) (written by

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the ...

) * ''

Psychogeography Psychogeography is the exploration of urban environments that emphasizes interpersonal connections to places and arbitrary routes. It was developed by members of the Letterist International and Situationist International, which were revolutionar ...

'' (2007) (written by

) * ''Garibaldi's Biscuits'' (2008) * ''

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

'' (2010) (album by

) * ''Little.com'' (2014) * "Extinct Boids" (2012) * "Proud Too Be Weirrd" (2013) * "Nextinction" (2014) * '' Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho'' (2017) ( Travis Scott and Quavo album)

Autobiographical writings

* ''Between the Eyes'' (1984). * '' The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories—Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me'' (2006). * ''Appetites: A Cookbook'' (2016). Ecco Press. .

References

External links

* *
Biography
at British Cartoon Archive * * * *
At Flickr
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steadman, Ralph 1936 births Alumni of the London College of Printing British caricaturists British illustrators British editorial cartoonists English people of Welsh descent Hunter S. Thompson Living people People from Wallasey Private Eye contributors Steadman Welsh caricaturists Welsh editorial cartoonists Welsh illustrators British republicans Artist authors