John Tenniel (1820–1914) was a British artist and caricaturist who created the first illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.
John Tenniel was born in London into the family of a fencing instructor. His father intended him for a military career, but from an early age John was drawn to art. He entered the Royal Academy Schools to study painting but left without completing his training.
In 1836 he began exhibiting his works in galleries and at the Royal Academy.
At the age of twenty, Tenniel lost the sight in his left eye after a fencing accident with his father. After this, he gradually gave up painting and focused on graphic art. He developed a particular interest in book illustration; in 1842 he produced his first series of illustrations for The Book of British Ballads, edited by Samuel Carter Hall.
Alongside illustration, Tenniel also worked on mural painting. After submitting a monumental cartoon titled The Spirit of Justice for a competition for the decoration of the House of Lords, he received a £200 premium and a commission to paint a fresco of Saint Cecilia, inspired by a poem by John Dryden.
From 1850 to 1901 he worked as the principal cartoonist for the magazine Punch.
In 1865 he created the now legendary illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and later for Through the Looking-Glass (published in 1871).
In 1893, John Tenniel was knighted.
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