PATTERSON Russel
Born in the 1890’s in Omaha Nebraska, U.S.A.
He moved as a child with his family to Newfoundland and then to Montréal, when his father a railroad lawyer joined Canadian Pacific Railways. He studied architecture at McGill University for a year. He then drew cartoons first for the Standard [Montréal] then for La Patrie. While at the latter he created the cartoon strip “Pierre et Pierrette” which first appeared in the summer of 1913 but ended with the outbreak of World War 1.
After being rejected by the Canadian Army in 1914, he went to Chicago U.S.A. to study. By 1920, his illustrations were appearing in Harpers Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Life. He was a great influence on the flapper fashion of the time. The “Patterson Girl” became the standard of the 1920’s, as the “Gibson Girl” was the standard of the 1890’s. During 1951 to 1956, he did a cartoon series “Mamie” for United Feature Syndicate.
In addition to illustration, he designed the sets and costumes of the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies. This activity developed into a parallel career.
SOURCE:
Article book:
The Hecklers. Writ. & Ed.., Peter Desbarates & Terry Mosher. McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1979: 247.
Article periodical:
inks: Cartoon & Comic Arts Studies, 4-2, May 1997: “An Introduction to the Canadian Newspaper Comic.” Writ., Kenneth Barker: 18-25.
Internet:
Archived Newspaper Strips of the 20th Century – Québecois.” Library & Archives Canada/Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/comics. Accessed 3 October 2017