Born in London in 1820, Tenniel was the son of a fencing instructor and dancing master and his wife. He later attended the Royal Academy but didn't like the type or amount of education he was receiving. Blind in one eye from fencing with his father, Tenniel was nonetheless a gifted artist with a photographic memory. By age sixteen he exhibited paintings and earned several commissions for his artwork. Later he became part of the staff of
Punch Magazine, drawing humorous cartoons and then political cartoons. For his work he received a knighthood, but he is most recognizable to the general public for his illustrations of Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and
Through the Looking Glass. Tenniel died in 1914.
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