Background
William Papas was born on July 15, 1927, in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa. He was a son of Kostas Papas, a Greek baker and restaurant owner.
Roper St, Brooklyn, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
In his early years, Papas studied at Pretoria Boys High School.
20 Beckenham Rd, Beckenham BR3 4PE, United Kingdom
William attended Beckenham School of Art in Kent.
107 Charing Cross Rd, Soho, London WC2H 0EB, United Kingdom
Papas studied at Saint Martin's School of Art in London.
(A boy in South Africa had two very special wishes - a rea...)
A boy in South Africa had two very special wishes - a real flute and to visit the town of Pink River. How his wishes come true is a humorous, delightful and human story.
https://www.amazon.com/No-mules-William-Papas/dp/B0006BRJDY
1967
(Impressionist watercolors and an elegant text combine to ...)
Impressionist watercolors and an elegant text combine to portray the complex city of Jerusalem as the author discovered it on a personal pilgrimage to the eternal capital of the Jewish people.
https://www.amazon.com/People-Old-Jerusalem-William-Papas/dp/0030574838
1980
(This book is a true collaborative effort with Tessa J. Pa...)
This book is a true collaborative effort with Tessa J. Papas' humorous text, complimented by Bill's effortless watercolors and witty pen and ink sketches. This work is a must for anyone, who knows and loves Greece.
https://www.amazon.com/Papas-Greece-Bill/dp/0964465116
1997
(Now everyone can learn to communicate in a way, that is p...)
Now everyone can learn to communicate in a way, that is probably older, than language itself with the help of one of the master exponents of this method, Professor Barba Yianna B.C.E.
https://www.amazon.com/Papas-Instant-Greek-Communicate-Quickly/dp/0964465124
1999
artist caricaturist cartoonist illustrator author
William Papas was born on July 15, 1927, in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa. He was a son of Kostas Papas, a Greek baker and restaurant owner.
Educated at Pretoria Boys High School, Papas ran away from home at the age of fifteen and, lying about his age, joined the South African Air Force as a rear-gunner, flying coastal missions during World War II. Later, Papas attended Johannesburg Art School and set up a fabric design studio. When it failed, he left for England in 1947, and continued his art studies at Beckenham School of Art in Kent and at Saint Martin's School of Art in London.
In 1949, after finishing his education in the United Kingdom, William returned to South Africa, at the time, when the government was introducing its avowedly racist legislation. Then, he worked as an artist and reporter for the Cape Times, one of the principal opposition publications, and it was there, that his first published cartoon appeared in 1951.
During the period from 1952 to 1958, Papas worked for the opposition Drum magazine and for the Star newspaper (Johannesburg). In 1958, his coverage of Nelson Mandela's treason trials for the Star was syndicated both to the London Observer and other European newspapers. However, after suffering repeated censorship, Papas abandoned journalism and spent time farming and trucking timber with his brother, before returning to London in 1959. Six years later, William was banned from South Africa for his anti-apartheid cartoons.
Upon his arrival in London in 1959, Papas began working together with David Low as a political cartoonist for the Guardian. Their work alternated until Low's retirement in April 1963, when Papas succeeded him. In 1959, Papas also began contributing to Punch magazine, including covers, and in 1964, he started making a weekly political cartoon and a strip, called "Bella and Lujah", for the Sunday Times, the publication, for which he served as a political cartoonist from 1960 till 1965. In addition to his daily cartoon for the Guardian, Papas created "Theodore", a strip cartoon about a mouse - one of whose escapades led to a brief ban on Papas' work in India in 1966.
Some time later, William was commissioned by the Guardian to illustrate feature articles. He illustrated articles about cities of the world, which were also issued as prints, and he also covered Party Conferences - one of his cartoons being condemned by Harold Wilson's political secretary as "the worst blow the Guardian struck against the Labour Party".
It was in 1965, that Papas covered the conflict in Cyprus. In 1966-1971, he held a post of a political cartoonist, working for Punch magazine. In 1967, William was appointed Guardian war artist to work during the six-day Arab-Israeli war. In the mid-1960's early 1970's, Papas also began his association with Oxford University Press, writing and illustrating books for both children and adults.
In 1970, William decided to take a sabbatical. He visited Greece and then he found it difficult to return to cartooning. He left the Guardian for good and was succeeded there by Les Gibbard.
In 1971, William came back to his father's home village Ermioni in Greece. Together with his second wife, Tessa Pares, he spent the next twelve years, cruising the Aegean, exhibiting and selling his pictures, before moving to the Middle East, where he produced a book on Jerusalem. After a short stay in Geneva in 1983, Papas and his wife accepted an invitation to Chicago, which turned into a two-year tour of the continental United States. In 1984, the couple settled down in Portland, Oregon, where Papas created illustrations and produced a series of pictures of American cities in pen-and-ink and watercolour. In Oregon, he also ran his own art gallery. Papas only returned to London on visits.
It was in 1992, that Papas started a self-syndication service and then he began to supply political cartoons to the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Kansas City Star and other United States and Canadian papers. He worked with a dip pen and India ink and for his watercolours used Arches cold-pressed watercolour paper.
As has been mentioned previously, William authored and illustrated a number of books, which include "The Story of Mr. Nero" (1965), "Tasso" (1966), "People of Old Jerusalem" (1980) and many others. Papas also illustrated publications like C. S. Lewis's ''Screwtape Letters'' and ''Illustrimi'' by Pope John Paul I, among others.
(Impressionist watercolors and an elegant text combine to ...)
1980(Now everyone can learn to communicate in a way, that is p...)
1999(A boy in South Africa had two very special wishes - a rea...)
1967(This book is a true collaborative effort with Tessa J. Pa...)
1997Papas' influences included Honoré Daumier and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Quotations:
"The drawing and the actual line are important for me. I obtain immense satisfaction in realizing a situation or movement with a simple pen stroke."
''I regard myself as an artist reporter, a recorder of people, places and events. A sketchbook commands respect, a degree of awe and instant communication in a way a camera cannot. It is a passport to people.''
William died in an airplane accident in British Columbia. He was fishing with a group of friends and drowned, when the floatplane, on which he was a passenger, crashed. Two of his friends passed away in the accident as well.
William was married twice. His first wife was Aroon McConnell. Their marrige produced three children - a daughter, named Peta Papas-Girod, and two sons - Warren and Vollmer. In 1969, William and Aroon divorced. The following year, in 1970, Papas married his second wife - Tessa (Pares) Papas.