Chris Beetles Gallery

Ken Pyne (born 1951)

Kenneth John Pyne (born 1951)

For almost 50 years, Ken Pyne has observed, analysed, and shared his amusement in the foibles of English social life.

Ken Pyne was born in London on 30 April 1951, the son of a boot repairer. Self-taught, he had his first cartoon published in Punch at the age of 16 – the youngest artist in the magazine in the twentieth century. He worked a number of other jobs however before becoming a cartoonist full-time at the age of 20. In addition to his work for Punch, his cartoons have appeared in Private Eye, The Times, the Independent, the Guardian, The Oldie, The Spectator and many others. He also produced a considerable amount of advertising work and has illustrated guide books for English Heritage and the Good Beer Guide. He was voted the Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain Cartoonist of the Year in 1981, Strip Cartoonist of the Year in 2001, Caricaturist of the Year in 2006 and the Hampstead Cartoonist of the Year in 2011. His work has been exhibited in the V&A, the Cartoon Museum and the British Museum. He lives and works in Hampstead.