Unparalleled style: Ralph Steadman made his name in Punch and Private Eye
88-year-old British illustrator and satirical cartoonist Ralph Steadman made his name working for publications including Punch and Private Eye before teaming up with American writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson, says Dan Moore.
They met in 1970 while covering the Kentucky Derby for Scanlan’s Monthly. Their collaborations included the cult classic Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey To The Heart Of The American Dream.
Ralph’s inimitable style of ink splatter and grotesque characterization has made his work highly sought after ever since.
It has appeared on the album covers of The Who and Frank Zappa, in novels such as Alice in Wonderland and Animal Farm, and in works by Ted Hughes and Brian Patten.
Ralph is a father of five and lives near Tenterden, Kent, in the family home he shared with his late wife Anna.
What did your parents teach you about money?
They taught me to be honest about it, to be straightforward and to do the right thing. This included recording everything correctly so that the authorities know everything there is to know about you as a citizen of the UK.
What was your first job?
As an apprentice radar operator at the de Havilland Aircraft Company in Broughton, Chester, in 1952, before I went into the service. I probably got about 30 shillings a year.
How did you get into art?
I saw an advert for the Percy V Bradshaw Press Art School course in Forest Hill, London. It said, ‘You too can learn to draw and earn pounds.’ When I met Mr Bradshaw I told him the course was old-fashioned. He said, ‘Ah, my boy, the rules of drawing never change.’ We got on very well. The principles of drawing are the same. People like Picasso changed it in a way, turning drawing into something a child can do – but still be ingenious.
When did you realize you could make a career out of it?
I don’t think I ever did. I feel as poor now as I did then. I didn’t even consider drawing as a career, I just tried it. I didn’t think I could make a lot of money with it, I just wanted to do it the best I could and say something with it.
How did the collaboration with Thompson come about?
I was in New York. It was my first trip to America, in 1970, and I was asked by J.C. Suarez, the design consultant for Scanlan’s Monthly, a counterculture magazine, if I would go to Kentucky to cover the Derby with an ex-Hell’s Angel, a guy named Hunter S. Thompson, who would write the piece that I would illustrate.
I went there not really knowing what to expect. It took days for us to find each other, and when we did, Hunter’s first comment was, “Well, they said you’d be weird, but not that weird.”
I had a goatee back then, which wasn’t very common in Kentucky, but we brought out something in each other that needed to come out.
We had adventures, but they were very spontaneous. You never really knew what would happen to Hunter.
Dangerous Money: Ralph with American writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson
Were you paid well to illustrate his work?
An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay was really all we wanted, and Jann Wenner, the editor of Rolling Stone, paid us well, as did Scanlan.
My daughter Sadie recently found the original Rolling Stone letters about the Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas assignment. It says, “We would pay you $500 for this work and would guarantee hospital care if needed during this assignment.”
That amount was increased to $750 when they increased the number of cover illustrations to ten pages with three cartoons.
Do you regret selling your work?
Since I sold the original Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas work for $75 to Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, I have not sold most of my original work. I am often quoted as saying, “If anyone owns a Steadman original, it’s stolen.”
What was the best year of your financial life?
I probably worked for Oddbins Wine Merchants for 12 years from 1987 and then in 1995 signed a contract with Flying Dog Brewery.
Commercial jobs are often the most lucrative. They pay for my passion projects like my children’s books, I Leonardo or The Big I Am.
Have you ever been paid a ridiculous amount of money for one job?
I was given a brand new Mark 1 Golf Convertible at a job. It was an A-reg so this would be 1983 when they cost £6,500 new.
The picture is perfect: Ralph’s work is highly sought after and graces album covers and novels
Are you a spender or a saver?
A saver. I was raised to be careful and I have a pension.
What is your biggest indulgence?
In 1985 we had a swimming pool installed at our house. I use it every day, so each swim costs me less and less.
What has been your best financial decision?
It was probably the purchase of our home, a Georgian country house, it is a beautiful place and the whole family has enjoyed it for many years.
What financial advice have you given your children?
Be careful, honest and avoid becoming a scammer or cheater.
What are your plans?
In September there will be an exhibition in Chatham called INKling.
Sadie put that together. It was a lot of work.
And that’s one thing I’ve always told my kids: give 100 percent to any job you take. Don’t just do it for the money.
- The exhibition Ralph Steadman: INKling runs from 21 September to 17 November at the Historic Dockyard Chatham (thedockyard.co.uk).
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