Alfred Leete

Alfred Leete's Lord Kitchener poster

Alfred Ambrose Chew Leete (1882–1933) was a British graphic artist. Born at Thorpe Achurch, Northamptonshire,^[1] he studied at Kingsholme School and The School of Science and Art (now Weston College) in Weston-super-Mare, before moving to London in 1899 and taking a post as an artist with a printer.^[2] His career as a paid artist had begun in 1897 when the Daily Graphic accepted one of his drawings; later he contributed regularly to a number of magazines including Punch magazine, the Strand Magazine, Tatler, etc. As a commercial artist he designed numerous posters and advertisements, especially in the 1910s and 1920s, for such brands as Rowntrees chocolates, Guinness and Bovril, and his series of advertisements for the Underground Electric Railways Company (the London Underground) were very well known; his work as a wartime propagandist includes the poster for which he is known above all, the Lord Kitchener poster design, which first appeared on the cover of the weekly magazine London Opinion on 5 September 1914. "His prolific output was characterized by its humour, keen observation of the everyday, and an eye for strong design"^[3]

Invitation to one of the regular "smoking" evenings at the London Sketch Club, dated at 11 November 1921. Designed by Alfred Leete.

Leete died in London in 1933. In 2004, Leete's work was on display in his native Weston at the North Somerset Museum.^[4]

References

1. Thorpe Achurch parish registers: baptized 24 September 1882
2. Bryant, Mark. "Poster Boy: Alfred Leete". History Today. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
3. Jim Aulich, "Leete, Alfred Ambrose Chew", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
4. "War artist's drawings on display". BBC News. 2004-08-05. Retrieved 2014-03-04.