H. M. Bateman

Henry Mayo Bateman (15 February 1887 – 11 February 1970, Mgarr, Malta) was a British humorous artist and cartoonist.

H. M. Bateman was noted for his "The Man Who..." series of cartoons, featuring comically exaggerated reactions to minor and usually upper-class social gaffes, such as "The Man Who Lit His Cigar Before the Royal Toast", "The Man Who Threw a Snowball at St. Moritz" and "The Boy Who Breathed on the Glass at the British Museum" which appeared in the satirical magazine Punch.

Early life "Winston Churchill smiles at the camera". Cartoon by H. M. Bateman (ca. 1912). Henry Bateman was born in the small village of Sutton Forest in New South Wales, Australia. His parents were Henry Charles Bateman and Rose Mayo. His father had left England for Australia in 1878, at the age of 21, to seek his fortune. He returned to England briefly in 1885 before going back with an English wife. Soon after Henry was born, the family returned to London. At the age of 14, he had already decided had an illustration published. In 1901, the cartoonist Phil May, in response to a letter from Rose, showed interest in his drawings, and in that year, Bateman was inspired by an exhibition of black-and-white art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Bateman initially studied at Forest Hill House.

Bateman was selected by Percy Bradshaw for inclusion in his 1918 The Art of the Illustrator which presented a portfolio for each of twenty illustrators. A Book of Drawings was a collection of his cartoons with an introduction by G.K. Chesterton, published in 1921.

Personal life Bateman married Brenda Collison Wier and they had two children, Diana and Monica, both of whom became artists. Diana was part of a group who later formed the Cartoon Art Trust in 1988.

Publications Bateman, H. M., intr. A. E. Johnson. Burlesques. London: Duckworth, 1916. Bateman, H. M. A Book of Drawings. London: Methuen, 1921. Bateman, H. M. Colonels. London: Methuen, 1925.