Vernon Lorimer b. c.1889

  • Artist (Printmaker),
  • Artist (Painter),
  • Designer (Graphic Designer),
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
Early 20th century Melbourne trained cartoonist, illustrator and commercial artist. Most of Lorimer's illustrative work was done for the NSW Bookstall Company.
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cartoonist, illustrator and commercial artist, trained as an artist in Melbourne. The NGA holds his poster for the Melbourne 'Art Students Annual Bal Masque’ of July 1911, a hand-coloured line block of a student with palette and brush (ill. Butler p.11). He contributed to Lone Hand , e.g. 'After the show was over’ 1 August 1912, 322-23, and drew at least one cartoon for The Comic Australian , 'The Comic Australian Surfing Academy’ 20 January 1912. While serving in WWI he contributed to a servicemen’s anthology.

Most of Lorimer’s illustrative work, however, was done for the NSW Bookstall Company. He began illustrating their books in 1908; a second followed in 1913 and 11 known illustrated books appeared after the war, in 1919-25, with his busiest period being 1922-23 (ill. Mills, 36). The Triad (10 August 1923, p.40, quoted Mills p.34), reviewing some of the Bookstall’s publications, praised Percy Lindsay 's artwork but had reservations about Lorimer’s illustrations to a racing story, The Jumping Double , by Charles E. Sayers:

“The artist is a Mr. Vernon Lorimer, and we can’t like him as we like Percy. Mr. Lorimer’s illustrations have a newly-laundered and badly-pressed look, and the head of the horse facing page 151 would put a Chinese dragon to the blush [ill. Mills p.36].

“Mr. Lorimer’s peculiarities are intensified in his drawings for another new book, Mr. A. R. Falk’s negligible shocker. This time he experiments with sawn-off figures…”

Mills notes that Lorimer is caricatured from his own pen in the 1922 Rowlandson memorial volume (the NSW Bookstall’s publisher) as something of a hack and suggests he was forced to make a living as a commercial artist against his inclinations. For Art and Australia 1924-29 he did advertisements for the Commonwealth Bank. A linocut, 'The Surf Beach’ c.1923, edn 30, is listed in Lebovic & Warner’s Fifty Years (cat. 62, not ill.).

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

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References [<ExternalResource: O'Sullivan, E. (Miss) (December 1916), 'Vernon Lorimer, artist and soldier, has just passed beyond the Great White Cloud...', Sydney, NSW : Bulletin, Obituary (n.b.: Lorimer was, in fact, only wounded).>, <ExternalResource: Butler, Roger (1993), 'Poster art in Australia : the streets as art galleries : walls sometimes speak', Canberra, ACT : National Gallery of Australia, p.11.>, <ExternalResource: Lebovic, Josef; & Warner, Sandra (1988), 'Fifty years of Australian printmaking : Sydney Long to Eric Thake', Paddington, NSW : Josef Lebovic Gallery.>, <ExternalResource: McCulloch, Alan (1984), 'Encyclopedia of Australian art', Melbourne, Vic : Hutchinson of Australia (2nd revised edition).>, <ExternalResource: Hanks, Elizabeth (1982), 'Australian art and artists to 1950 : a bibliography based on the holdings of the State Library of Victoria.', Melbourne, Vic : Library Council of Victoria.>, <ExternalResource: Mills, Carol (1991), 'The New South Wales Bookstall As A Publisher', Canberra, ACT : Mulini Press.>, <ExternalResource: Ladd, Brian; with Krell, Alan (1983), 'The artist & the city : travelling art exhibition 1983', Sydney, NSW : Art Gallery of New South Wales.>, <ExternalResource: (1915), 'Australian Imperial Force : Nominal Roll : 5th Infantry Brigade, 6th Field Ambulance - "A" Section', Canberra, ACT : Australian War Memorial, 03-31.>, <ExternalResource: 'World War I Personnel Records B2455', Canberra, ACT : National Archives of Australia.>, <ExternalResource: (1912), Sydney, NSW : Lone Hand, 08-01, pp.322-23.>, <ExternalResource: (1912), The Comic Australian, January.>, <ExternalResource: (1923), Triad, 08-10, p.40.>] [<ExternalResource: O'Sullivan, E. (Miss) (December 1916), 'Vernon Lorimer, artist and soldier, has just passed beyond the Great White Cloud...', Sydney, NSW : Bulletin, Obituary (n.b.: Lorimer was, in fact, only wounded).>]