Alfred Bestall

Illustrator and author of the Rupert Bear adventures.

Born:

14 DEC 1892

Place of Birth:

Mandalay, Burma

School:

Rydal Mount, Colwyn Bay

Biography:

Caroline Bott from Godalming, Surrey, god-daughter of Alfred Bestall and author of his biography The Life and Works of Alfred Bestall: Illustrator of Rupert Bear tells us about his strong connections with North West Wales.

"Alfred Edmeades Bestall (1892-1986), best known as the author and illustrator of Rupert Bear from 1935-1965, fell in love with North Wales when he was a schoolboy at Rydal Mount in Colwyn Bay from 1904-1911. He had two holidays with his parents at Trefriw in the Conwy Valley in 1912 and 1913, which confirmed his love of the area, and he visited Beddgelert for the first time then.

After World War I he stayed almost every year at Penrhiwgoch (Snowdon View), Nantgwynant, until he managed to purchase his own cottage, Penlan, in Beddgelert, from Colonel Goodchild in 1956. He lived mainly in Surbiton, Surrey, but stayed at Penlan several times a year and in between lent the cottage to family and friends from the Surbiton Hill Methodist Church, to which he belonged.

In 1980 Penlan became his permanent home, until cancer prevented his living on his own, and he died peacefully at the Wern Nursing Home in January 1986, aged 93.

Alfred was born of Methodist missionary parents in Mandalay, Burma, in 1892. Although he did well at school in academic subjects, such as mathematics and classics, he was always getting into trouble for doodling in his books and he was also involved in the artwork for school theatrical productions. A drawing of the head of a mouse caught in a trap won him a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Crafts in Birmingham, and after three years there he transferred to the LCC Central School of Art (his parents having moved from Wolverhampton to Woking).

He was beginning to submit drawings to the journals of the day but in 1915 he joined up and went into Mechanical Transport. He spent from January 1916 until July 1919 in Flanders.

After de-mob began the hectic period illustrating for what Alfred described as the 'Big Shinies', such as Tatler, Eve, Punch and many other journals and books. He and fellow artists worked successfully from a studio in Whitefriars Street until the 1930s when work became scarce.

In 1935 the opportunity arose to illustrate the Rupert stories for the Daily Express and after accepting the job (with its incumbent regular salary) Alfred discovered that he was expected to write the stories as well! This he did for 30 years and, even after officially retiring in 1965, he contributed to the Rupert Annuals until he was 90. His 1958 annual endpaper, Frog Chorus, was immortalised by Sir Paul McCartney in Rupert and the Frog Song.

Although he made his name as a Rupert Bear author and illustrator, and was intensely conscious of the responsibility of being able to influence the minds of young children, as an artist he was most proud of his work for Punch, the double-page spreads he did in watercolour for Tatler and the two oil paintings which were hung in the Royal Academy."

The Life and Works of Alfred Bestall: Illustrator of Rupert Bear by Caroline G Bott is published by Bloomsbury.

your comments

We're making some changes to the sites shortly and although this form will be closing, you will have other opportunities to contribute on our new-look site.

Paul Schilling, Swanage, Dorset
I was wondering if anyone knows how many Rupert stories Mary Tourtel (original author/illustrator) produced. I know there are a series of books which she illustrated.
Fri Jul 3 09:13:54 2009

Hartley James Connelly, Colchester
I have some very old original illustrations 1910 by E. BESTALL. They are drawn exactly in the style of A E Bestall's work and indeed I think they are his. Did he ever sign his illustrations E. BESTALL?
Mon May 11 10:23:52 2009

Herne Bay, Kent
Bestall used to go sailing near my home, I've read his autobiography, not terribly informative about his life, such as why he never married or what were his thoughts being first on the scene at a bomb site (he was an ARP warden in WW2), but worth a look at some of his excellent work.
Tue Apr 21 09:21:48 2009

Ken Joynes, Southampton
Growing up in the 1950s and 60s my sister and I were given the new Rupert annual every Christmas and I think our Dad enjoyed reading the rhyme stories at bedtime as much as we enjoyed them. Living in New Malden at the time we somehow discovered that Alfred lived in Surbiton and, being about 10 and 12 years of age, we got on the bus and knocked, uninvited on his door. He brought us in, we chatted, he was very nice and showed us some of his work. We were thrilled. What a nice man.
Mon Dec 22 13:55:37 2008

John Pritchard, Glos.
Can anybody give me some help? I am looking for a print of a cartoon sketch "Our scrum half's wife buys a melon". I believe the artist is Alfred Bestall.
Thu Nov 27 12:19:19 2008

john hughes
as a boy in the 1960s i grew up in beddgelert and i and a few friends used to go scrumping apples and play in mr bestall garden. we used to be very scared as we knew he was watching us through the window.when i used to read the rupert books to my kids. i used to see me and my friends in many of his stories - fond memories thanks to mr bestall
Fri Apr 25 09:50:12 2008

Matthew McReynolds from Southend
Im currently studying Rupert the Bear. I was wondering how he was introduced, does anyone know?
Tue Apr 22 10:16:13 2008

Rhodri, Beddgelert
Alfred was not the creator of Rupert in the literary sense, he was the first to illustrate the bear and therefore was most definitely the creator of the image that springs to mind whenever we think of Rupert.
Tue May 29 16:32:43 2007

David in Germany
I was lucky enough to know Alfred Bestall in the 1980s. I've never known a sweeter, kinder, shyer man who seemed to be constantly amazed by how loved he and hispaintings and stories were! A very positive man, the world has been a much more uninspired place since his passing.
Tue Apr 10 10:47:35 2007

Jack Bestall
Alfred is a relative of mine and it is great for me to go on a site that allows me to see his past and his life. thank you.
Wed Jan 24 12:47:54 2007

Trish - Canterbury
The original creator of Rupert Bear was Mary Tourtel born in Canterbury. There is a small museum devoted to Rupert which is part of the Museum of Canterbury. There is more about Mary Tourtel in Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. Hope this helps.
Tue Apr 4 10:40:59 2006

Trudy Cowx, Co Clare, Ireland
I was given several old prints of drawings of characters obviously from school plays. The style of the drawings always intrigued me. I just knew I should know who had done them. It wasn't until I got my computer that I could search for the illustrator 'Bestall.' It was, of course Alfred Bestall, illustrator of my favourite children's character, Rupert Bear!
Wed Nov 23 21:50:52 2005

Dawn from Australia
I have been given the impression that Rupert the Bear was created by a lady who then handed it over to Alfred Bestall. Is this correct? Who was the lady? Thank you for your time.
Mon Jan 31 12:13:02 2005

Add your comments to this page here:

Your name, surname and location (e.g. Joe Bloggs from Bangor):

Comment:

Your Email Address (required)

The BBC reserves the right to select and edit comments. Find out how to make sure your comments are published. To submit a larger contribution or if you require a response please contact us.

more from this section

more from North West Wales

Gemau'r ynysoedd Hanes tîm Ynys Môn yng Ngemau'r Ynysoedd.