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Welcome to the John Hassall fan page!

John Hassall (1868-1948) was a very successful artist best known for his posters and advertisements. He illustrated a good number of picture books for kids as well. This site is dedicated to his work. His projects will be presented one by one as our time and resources permit with as many graphic material as possible (he was a graphic artist after all) and hopefully interesting links for further explorations.

So who was John Hassall?

John Hassall (1868-1948) was one of the most successful poster artists in the so-called Golden Age of Graphic Design.

Early years

He was born on May 21, 1868, in Walmer Kent, UK, as the oldest son of Royal Navy Lieutenant Christopher Clark Hassall, a descendant of the family of wine merchants, who was paralyzed during the action of the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. He died being only 38 years old.

John's mother was Louisa Sparkes. She was a daughter of Revd Joseph Butterworth Owen, incumbent of St Jude's, Chelsea, London. Her grandfather was an architect Jacob Owen. When she lost her first husband, she remarried another officer at the royal Marines who later became General Sir William Purvis Wright.

John's step-father expected him to join the army too but he failed at exams twice. John already gained some education at Newton Abbot College, Devon, UK, and Neuenheim College, Heidelberg, Germany. He and his brother Owen were sent to Minnedosa Manitoba, Canada in 1888 where he spent two years on the ranch. Farming and rural environment marked him for the rest of his life. He enjoyed it very much and even worked as a pathfinder among members of the Sioux tribe.

It was Canada, where he started sketching in his spare time. People who saw his works encouraged him to send some to the papers and his first drawings were published on February 1890 in The Daily Graphic. After that, he decided to try working as a draughtsman for a living. John Hassall returned to Europe to seek further education, this time as an artist.

Young artist

He studied under Piet van Havermaet and his son Charles in Academie voor Schoone Kunsten, Antwerp for two years and in Academie Julian, Paris, for six months. He was deeply influenced by already established artists Alphonse Mucha. During studies, he met Isabel Dingwall, a fellow student whom he married. They returned to London where he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1894. The very same year he got published for the first time in The Sketch. Soon his workload increased and in a few years, he became a regular at Judy and Moonshine, New Budget, and Pick-Me-Up.

The end of the 19th century was the time of great changes in the printing industry and the advertising industry started using posters as the medium for advertising on the streets. Hassall was among the pioneers. Advertisers were looking for artists who could use the new possibilities coming with improved printing techniques to full advantage. Hassall's friend Hardy mentioned him there's a need for fresh ideas and he sent a design to the office of Allen & Sons.

His style was simple, humorous, robust, and very effective. Advertising agency David Allen & Sons immediately recognized his potential and a fruitful collaboration started in 1895. It lasted seven years and he created over six hundred poster designs for this company. His first poster was made in black and yellow for a musical comedy The French Maid. Working for theater shows accompanying him for the rest of his life. Posters for Drury Lane productions are probably his most famous work from this field.

Hassall was one of the first artists who understood how to design a poster to make it attractive and informative at the same time. Instead of portraying the scenes related to the advertised event or product what mostly did other poster creators, he decided to focus on one character only. His commercial products included British Vacuum Cleaner Company, Colman's Mustard, Judson's Moonlight Soap, Nestle's Milk, Sunlight Soap, Veritas Gas Mantles, ... He created the whole series about railway, golf, and even anti-suffragette movement.

Hassall used bold lines and strong colors. In the world where full-color printing was still too expensive for most, he made extremely appealing poster art with only one or two colors, with clever positioning of the pictures, text, borders, and other decorative elements, always pushing the info in front of the viewer no matter the level of society he or she belonged but never on the expense of artistic value. His career as a poster designer lasted almost half of the century and he is rightfully called the poster king today.

Private life

John Hassall had a son and two daughters with his first wife Isabel who died after the last childbirth in 1900. He remarried three years later to Constance Maud Webb, a daughter of Revd Albert Brooke Webb, rector of Dallinghoe in Suffolk. Their son Christopher Vernon Hassal became a successful actor, author, poet, lyricist, and librettist. Their daughter was Joan Hassall, a talented painter, book illustrator, and wood-engraver. Christopher's daughter was Imogen Hassall, an actress.

John Hassall was known as a man of great charm who was able to instantly make friends and create many useful business connections, just perfect for a workaholic as he is declared today. When the first World War broke up, he was too old to be a soldier, so he became s special constable. He also intensely participated in charity shows, donating thousands of his drawings.

For many decades he spent his holidays in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex where he built a huge collection of ancient flint implements, which eventually became an important part of British archaeological history.

Work

While he made numerous paintings (he became an elected member of Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Society of Miniature Painters) in watercolors, he contributed drawings to newspapers and illustrations to publishers of mostly books for kids (thanks to his use of thick outlines and strong colors, they loved his style in this field).

John Hassal also belonged to the London Sketch Club which president was for about a year (there he became a close friend to Rene Bull and Phil May, among others), and the literary club Sette of Odd Volumes which private menus he illustrated. In 1900 he already opened New Art School and School of Poster Design. When the World War started, he successfully continued with tuition by mail - through John Hassall Correspondence School. Posters stayed his main staple for all of his life. The Jolly Fisherman and Kodak Girl, for instance, were so popular characters, they outlived him for decades.

That's not the end of the list. We can find him among the active members of Knights of Ye round Table, Masonic Pen and Brush Lodge, and Odd Volumes.

At the same time he designed cards, toys, and even the uniforms for the Boy Scouts and In later years he illustrated several books of poetry by eminent authors like Robert Burns and William Wordsworth.

In 1939, he was granted a civil pension for services to poster art, but never really stopped working till the very end of his life.

According to existing copyright laws all presented images are in Public Domain due the date of death of the artist (more than 70 years). But this is true in European Union and is not necessary true in other countries. Thing become further complicated with presentation of registered trademarks and similar exceptions so we'll try to avoid such material.

In any case consider this page as a fan page with pure educational goals. Your input is welcome. If you find the presented stuff interesting tell your friends. Be inspired by the creative power of John Hassall!