Claude Marquet

Claude Marquet
Born	Claude Arthur Marquet (1869-05-08)8 May 1869 Moonta, South Australia, Australia
Died	17 April 1920(1920-04-17) (aged 50) Botany Bay, Australia
Occupation	Artist, cartoonist, illustrator
Signature

Claude Arthur Marquet (1869–1920) was an influential Australian political cartoonist, noted for his bold illustrative style and strong commitment to the labour movement and radical politics.

Marquet developed his artistic skills without formal training while working as a compositor for The Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide. In 1898 he was employed by Quiz magazine as a cartoonist. Marquet moved to Melbourne in 1902. His cartoons were published in the socialist newspaper The Tocsin, as well as publications such as Table Talk and the Sydney-based Bulletin. From March 1905 to October 1907 Marquet was employed by Melbourne's Punch magazine. In about December 1907 he moved to Sydney to join the staff of The Worker (later renamed The Australian Worker), a weekly newspaper aligned with the union movement in Australia. Marquet remained with The Australian Worker until his death in April 1920 in a boating accident.

Marquet was best known for his uncompromising political cartoons, particularly during the years he worked for The Worker newspaper, but his output also included social satire and comic strips intended for child readers. He was a prolific illustrator who worked almost exclusively in the black-and-white medium, his illustrations rendered in bold lines suited to newspaper reproduction. Marquet's dedication to unionism and democratic socialist values was reflected in much of his work (occasionally compromised in line with the more conservative views of his employers). His political cartoons came to particular prominence during the conscription debates of 1916 and 1917 when his work (notably 'The Blood Vote') was used for widely-distributed leaflets by anti-conscription advocates.