Beryl Antonia Botterill b. 24 July 1907

Also known as Mrs Antonia Yeoman, Anton, Beryl Antonia Thompson, Botterill
  • Artist (Textile Artist / Fashion Designer),
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
Mid 20th century cartoonist and illustrator, born in Brisbane. She moved to England as a young woman where she studied art under Stephen Spurrier at the Royal Academy Schools. She later formed a cartooning patnership with her brother under the pen name 'Anton'. Botterill also worked as a commercial and fashion artist and was the only female member of Punch magazine's Toby Club and the first woman
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cartoonist and illustrator, was born in Brisbane on 24 July 1907, daughter of an Englishman. Confined to bed with TB of the spine as a child, she lost two fingers of her right hand in her teens and learnt to write and draw with her left. In some accounts Botterill left for England in the 1920s when she attended the Royal Academy Schools in 1928-30 and studied art under Stephen Spurrier for a year before becoming a freelance commercial artist. In other accounts the family settled in England in 1915 when Antonia was three and she had no further connection with Australia.

As 'Botterill’, Antonia freelanced as a fashion and commercial artist in 1932-37, producing numerous advertising posters and showcards. In 1937 she formed a cartooning partnership with her brother, Harold Underwood Thompson (b. Cheshire 1911 & apparently still alive in 1994), who had begun cartooning as 'H. Botterill’ in 1935. They called themselves 'Anton’. During the war, when Harold was on active service in the Navy, Antonia drew all the Anton cartoons. They teamed up again after the war and produced many cartoons for Punch , Lilliput , Men Only and others, until 1949 when Harold’s work as director of an advertising agency left him less time for drawing and Antonia again took over the name entirely.

Anton’s drawings of spivs, forgers, dukes and duchesses were very popular and appeared in the Tatler , Evening Standard (where the weekly cartoons were entirely by Harold) and Private Eye , as well as in Punch etc. Antonia was the only female member of Punch 's Toby Club and the first woman elected to the Chelsea Arts Club. She also illustrated 17 books, drew a series of popular advertisements for Moss Bros and, with Harold, published two cartoon anthologies: Anton’s Amusement Arcade (1947) and Low Life and High Life (1952). She died in England on 30 June 1970.

Writers:
Kerr, Joan
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007

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