Keith Roy Waite (19 March 1927, in New Plymouth, New Zealand – 10 April 2014, in Ipswich, United Kingdom) was a New Zealand-born editorial cartoonist. He has been referred to as one of the 'greatest-ever social and political cartoonists' in Britain.[1]

Biography

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At the age of nine, Waite won a newspaper cartoon competition.[2] He has been quoted as saying "I just knew from an early age that I wanted to be a cartoonist".[3] His interest in art continued and he attended Elam School of Fine Arts, as well as Auckland Teacher Training College.[2] After teaching for a year, he returned to Elam while working as a free-lance cartoonist for the Taranaki Daily News, the Auckland Weekly News and the New Zealand Herald.[4] He took up a position at the Otago Daily Times as a staff cartoonist in 1949.[4]

In 1951, Waite moved to the United Kingdom contributing to a number of publications including the Sunday Times, the Glasgow Daily Record, The Scottish Daily News, Punch (1952-1964), and Men Only magazine.[2] Between 1957 and 1964 he worked as the chief political cartoonist for the Daily Sketch in London, producing up to three cartoons a day.[2][5] He continued to work for London-based publications, including the Sun (1964–69), the Daily Mirror (1969–85), the Sunday Mirror (1970–80) and the City Diary of The Times (1987-1997).[2] He was made Cartoonist of the Year in 1963 by the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain.[2]

Publications

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  • Just Waite: Cartoons from the Otago Daily Times (1950). Dunedin, Otago Daily Times Print.
  • Waite up to date 1959: Cartoons from the Otago Daily Times (1951). Dunedin, Otago Daily Times Print.
  • The adventures of Little Mookra, by John Emlyn Edwars, illustrated by Keith Waite (1977). London, Methuen Children's Books.
  • Cooking afloat on sail and power boats, by Fiona Grafton, illustrated by Keith Waite (1979). London, Macmillan.
  • The worlds of Waite: Cartoons from the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror (1989). London, Mirror.
  • Sailing past, by Renee M Waite, illustrated by Keith Waite (1992). London, Seafarer

Exhibitions

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  • Drawn and Quartered: The World of the British Newspaper Cartoon, 1720-1970, National Portrait Gallery, London (1970)
  • Not By Appointment, London Press Club (1977)
  • Public Lives - New Zealand's Premiers and Prime Ministers 1856-2003, National Library of New Zealand (2003)
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References

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  1. ^ Cannan, Dave (31 May 2014). "One of the 'greatest-ever' gave no quarter". Otago Daily Times: 36.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Keith Waite: Social and political cartoonist whose 50-year career took". The Independent. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Keith Waite - British Cartoon Archive - University of Kent". www.cartoons.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Cartoonist for the Daily Times. Introducing "Waite"". Otago Daily Times: 6. 10 December 1949.
  5. ^ "Waite, Keith (1927 - 2014) - Cartoon Gallery". www.original-political-cartoon.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.