~ Mr Rubridge, Commandant, Judgement Day By James "Jimmy" Friell 1943 ~
This pen and colour wash depicts a WW2 British Army Officer, looking down in a displeased manner at a Japanese Officer with a large “13” tag attached to him with text above. The text reads “Mr Rubridge….Commandant, Judgement Day!”.
The lower right corner is signed “Jimmy James, Oct 43”.
It is presented in a glazed, single mounted modern frame. Most of his work is normally monochrome.
~ James "Jimmy" Friell ~
James "Jimmy" Friell (13 March 1912 in Glasgow – 4 February 1997 in Ealing) was a Scottish cartoonist who worked for the then Daily Worker. He used the nom de plume Gabriel because he wanted to herald the end of capitalism. Friell started drawing for the Daily Worker in 1936 railing against the evils of Hitler and Mussolini.
He was called up in September 1940 to the Royal Artillery, became a gunner and was posted to an anti-aircraft battery, where he was kept under constant observation as a subversive. In consequence, his work at the paper was interrupted by a wartime interval to serve in the British Army. But he continued to send cartoons to the Daily Worker until it was banned in January 1941. Friell then produced cartoons for army newspapers and helped establish the Soldier magazine, for which he became art editor in 1944.
In 1956, disillusioned, he left the paper after his cartoon comparing the Russian tanks in Budapest to the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt was rejected. He walked out along with many of the Daily Worker’s editorial staff. "I couldn't conceive carrying on cartooning about the evils of capitalism and imperialism," Friell wrote, "and ignoring the acknowledged evils of Russian Communism.
~ Dimensions ~
The frame has a height of 16.7 inches (42.3 cm), a width of 12.7 inches (32.2 cm) & a depth of 0.7 inches (1.8 cm).
The picture has a height of 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) & a width of 9.5 inches (24.1 cm).
It weighs 925 g.
~ Condition ~
The piece is in excellent condition.
