Donald Fraser Gould McGill (28 January 1875 – 13 October 1962) was an English graphic artist whose name has become synonymous with a whole genre of saucy seaside postcards that were sold mostly in small shops in British coastal towns. The cards feature an array of attractive young women, fat old ladies, drunken middle aged men, honeymoon couples and vicars. He has been called 'the king of the saucy postcard', and his work is collected and appreciated for his artistic skill, its power of social observation and earthy sense of humour. Even at the height of his fame he only earned three guineas a design, but today his original artwork can fetch thousands of pounds.
McGill was born in London in 1875. He lost a foot in a school rugby accident, and, having studied at Blackheath Proprietary School where his best friend was Campbell Richard Hone, a future Bishop of Wakefield, spent most of his life in the Blackheath area of south-east London, living at 5 Bennett Park, SE3 – a blue plaque location.
He was a naval draughtsman until his career in postcards began accidentally in 1904 when an in-law encouraged him after seeing an illustrated get-well card he had made for a sick nephew. Within a year it was his full-time occupation. He studied art and married the daughter of the owner of Crowder's Music Hall in Greenwich.
Self-portrait the artist as an old man: Donald McGill as seen by himself
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