Matt Pritchett

Matthew Pritchett MBE (born 14 July 1964) is a British cartoonist who has worked on The Daily Telegraph newspaper under the pen name Matt since 1988.

Early life and education

Pritchett's father Oliver Pritchett, who was a columnist for The Telegraph for all decades,^[1] is the son of the writer V. S. Pritchett.^[2] Matt's sister is screenwriter Georgia Pritchett.^[3]

At young age, Pritchett attended a grammar school in southeast London before studying graphics at Saint Martin's School of Art. He started working as a waiter in a pizza restaurant, and started drawing cartoons in his spare time. His first cartoon was published in the New Statesman, and he soon started drawing more cartoons for The Telegraph diary.^[2] He had considered becoming a film-cameraman, but gave up after realising he had misunderstood the role.^[4]

Career and honours

Following the death of Mark Boxer in 1988, Pritchett was hired by Max Hastings to be The Telegraph's new cartoonist.^[2] His first cartoon in this role came the day after the newspaper was printed with the date error, leading them to make a front-page apology accompanied by a cartoon saying "I hope I have a better Thursday than I did yesterday".^[4][5]

He was appointed an MBE in the 2002 New Year Honours "for services to Journalism",^[6] and in 2005, Press Gazette inducted him into their Hall of Fame as one of the 40 most influential journalists of the past four decades.^[7]

He has won the British Press Awards' "Cartoonist of the Year" multiple times, and has been a nominee many other times.^[8][9] His work has also been published in Punch.^[10]

Personal life

Pritchett is married to Pascale Smets, a Belgian former fashion designer. They met whilst studying at Saint Martin's, and have three daughters and a son together, including The Guardian cartoonist Edith Pritchett.^[11] His wife's sister, Benedicte, is married to Martin Newland, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph.^[2][12]

Published works

• The Best of Matt, 2004. Orion. 2004.^[13]
• Matt - The Best of 2008. Orion. 2008.^[2]

Awards

• British Press Awards (The Press Awards after 2010): "Cartoonist of the Year" (2000,^[14] 2008,^[15] 2009,^[16] 2019^[17])
• The Press Awards: "The Journalists' Charity Award" (2014)^[18]

References

1. Pritchett, Oliver (16 December 2018). "Life as a Sunday Telegraph journalist was full of historic - and bizarre - moments". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
2. Davidson, Max (16 October 2008). "Cartoonist Matt makes his mark with a gentle touch". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
3. Brown, Helen (1 August 2021). "'He pretended to be a robot, then tried to kill me': growing up with cartoonist Matt". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
4. Burrell, Ian (21 November 2005). "Matt Pritchett: The Telegraph cartoonist gets top honour". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
5. "A newspaper ahead of its time", The Daily Telegraph, 25 February 1988, front page, via Newspapers.com, retrieved 26 November 2024.
6. "MBEs N - R". BBC News. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
7. Gibson, Owen (22 November 2005). "Newspaper panel picks its top 40 - from agony aunts to war reporters". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
8. "Press Awards for 2012 – winners". The Guardian. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
9. "British Press Awards". The Guardian. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
10. "Matt Cartoons (Matthew Pritchett) - Images | PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive". punch.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
11. Pownall, Elfreda (31 August 2019). "At the table for a Telegraph family feast with Pascale Smets and cartoonist Matt". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
12. "Media: A Family Business". The Independent. 17 January 2005. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
13. Sabin, Roger (12 December 2004). "68,647 ways to make you laugh". The Observer. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
14. "Legendary editor wins life award". The Guardian. 22 March 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
15. "British Press Awards 2008 - full list of winners". The Guardian. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
16. "British Press Awards 2009: full list of winners". The Guardian. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
17. Davies, Gareth (3 April 2020). "Telegraph wins Website of the Year at British Press Awards - one of 11 accolades". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
18. "Press awards: Everyday Sexism founder wins Georgina Henry prize". The Guardian. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

External links

• Telegraph cartoons
• Biography at the British Cartoon Archive