A S Paterson Cartoons from The Dominion

Daily cartoons by Alan Stuart Paterson from his time as the first staff cartoonist at The Dominion from 1925 to 1950.

A S Paterson

I recently came in to possession of several hundred clippings of Alan Stuart Paterson's (1902-1968) daily cartoons from The Dominion created whilst he was their first staff cartoonist from 1925-1950.

From Susan E. Foster's Profile at Te Ara,

 "Paterson worked his cartoons out in his mind at night, then drew them in the morning, usually taking 1½ to two hours. In his early drawings the influence of Phil May and a young David Low can be seen before he developed his own fluid, economical style."

Over the years Paterson also illustrated many books and publications for A. W. Reed depicting the life and times of New Zealand in the early twentieth century.

As well as his skill as a cartoonist Paterson was an accomplished water colourist with three books of watercolour work published posthumously that saw multiple printings with sales of over 100,000 copies.

From NZ Herald cartoonist G. E Minhinnick. O.B E. foreword to Paterson's book of watercolour puns, The Bull Pen,

"His friends will remember him as a gentle and whimsical philosopher, with a glorious sense of the absurd. They will remember him, too as an artist an illustrator of distinction and a quiet man."

Over the course of Paterson's daily strips for The Dominion he recorded customs, attitudes  and social mores of early twentieth century New Zealand that show remarkable differences to the New Zealand of today.

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Self-portrait from Professor Paterson's Book of Engaging Birds

Sources: Susan E. Foster. 'Paterson, Alan Stuart - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10 URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/5p16/1, G.E Minhinnick's foreword to The Bull Pen 1968