| Born
on May 30 1898 in Whitley Bay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
one of eight children. He attended Sandyford School,
followed in 1909, by Heaton Park Road Upper School.
From a young age, he decided that he wished to emulate
his father, a marine landscape painter and technical
draftsman. Learning his skill by copying cartoons from
Punch, by the age of fifteen he was contributing caricatures
of famous celebrities to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
Gilroy won a scholarship to Armstrong College Art School
at Durham University, but on the outbreak of the First
World War, Gilroy joined the Royal Field Artillary,
serving in France, Italy and Palestine. Post-war, Gilroy
accepted a place at the RCA, winning more scholarships,
and accepting a teaching position. In 1924, he married
Gwendoline Peri-Short, a fellow student at RCA. In 1925,
aged 27, he joined SH Benson's creative department as
an 'in-house artist'. Gilroy was soon working on high
profile campaigns, including Colman's "Mustard
Club", with fellow artist William Brearley and
copywriters Oswald Greene and Dorothy L. Sayers. Best
known for his campaigns for Guinness, Gilroy created
well over 100 press and poster advertisements for Guinness
over thirty-five years, many using humorous character-based
advertising. Famous by the Second World War, he worked
with the MOI studios to produced photo-lithographic
posters on a salvage theme, having been personally commissioned
to do work for the MOI by Embleton, Edwin.
Best known for his humorous Guinness posters, Gilroy
had a 'remarkable' versatile drawing style and a wide
range of 'technical skills', covering the range from
'intricate pen-and-ink drawings' to expansive poster
canvases. Gilroy's work, particularly landscape and
portrait paintings (including the Royal Family, Winston
Churchill and Rupert Guinness), were regularly exhibited
at the RA. Gilroy described posters as 'a king of
aesthetic meal-in-a-minute. The man in the street
is usually in a hurry to catch a bus or avoid being
caught by one, and has no time for lengthy contemplation.'
Information collated from: Anonymous, 'The
Guinness Collectors Club - John Gilroy', http://www.guinntiques.com/gilroy,
accessed March 24 2004; Davies, J., The Book of
Guinness Advertising, 1998, pp.68-69 (quoting
Guinness Time, Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 1952, p.19);
McDermott, R., 'Gilroy at His Whimsiest for Ministry
of Supply', Advertiser's Weekly, Vol. 128,
No. 1,674, June 21 1945, p.504; Questionnaire submitted
by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., 'Posters
of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British
Defence', Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster,
1991, p.123.
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