CRUIKSHANK, kruleslifink. GEORGE ( 1792 1878). An English caricaturist. He was born in London, September 27, 1792, the younger son of Isaac Crnikshank, himself a caricaturist. his early wish to follow the sea was opposed by his mother, who desired that his father should in struct him in art; but his father refused, and George failed to secure entrance into the Royal _Academy schools. The idea of adopting art as a profession was for the time abandoned. Sub sequently, at the death of his father, having his mother to maintain as well as himself, he turned to drawing. His apprentice work as caricaturist appeared in the monthly in.riodicals called, re spectively, The Scourge and The Meteor; and about the same period he made the sketches re ferring to the trial of Queen Caroline. Indeed, a great deal of his work, which at that time reflected the political situations of the day, may be looked upon now as being fairly historical in its bearing. As early as 1S23 he began the illustra tions for Grimm's Fairy Tales. In 1835 he pub lished the first number of the famous Comic .1/ manae, which tlouriAied under various manage ments until 1853. In 1847 he made a series of wood-cuts on "The Bottle," and his "Sunday in London," "The Gin Trap." and "The Gin :Jugger naut." published at this time. had a wide circula tion. It is said that the unfortunate life of a personal friend influenced him to exercise his gifts in a crusade against intemperance. A
strong moral was enforced in these drawings. His best-known illustrations were those made for Dickens's (Wirer Twist and the Sketches by Boz-, those for the Waverley novels, and for the Memoirs of Grimaldi. In 1833 he designed and etched fifteen plates for illustration of Don Quix ote. In later years he essayed to paint, and. though he had little skill in manipulating pig ment's, his efforts in that direction show his keen insight into human nature and his unique genius in portraying the grotesquely humorous. His "Cinderella," painted in 18.714. is in the Smith Kensington :qui:elm. In 1862 be painted for the National Temperance League "The Worship of Bacelnrk," which is now in the National Gal lery. Rossetti wrote, in reference to this picture, that "the man who in his old age occupies himself for nearly three years in painting this homily upon canvas. to the most negative results in point of art, deserves respect." 'ruik• shank died in London, February 1, 1878, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. Consult: Stephens, .1 .1/t.moir of Groryr rrnikshank (Lou don, 1S91 ) ; tales, George Cr// ik8///ik ( London. 1878) ; Jerrold, Life of George Cruikshank ( Lon don, 1883).