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Honorary Doctor of Arts, 2011
Bio | Citation

Alumnus John Holder is a veteran illustrator who is known internationally for his phenomenal creative talent. He specialises in classic pen drawing with a generous twist of humour and these intricate, expressive and mood-setting drawings have been acclaimed by art critics from every corner of the globe.

John is a published illustrator. His credits include distinguished authors, John Steinbeck, Dickens, Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut, Graham Greene and Henry James. John has exhibited his drawings, paintings and illustrations in England, Croatia, France, Poland and the USA. His work is seen across the UK, Europe and the USA appearing in books, magazines and newspapers as well as for advertising and packaging. He penned the distinctive illustrations that helped to put Phileas Fogg crisps on the world map.

An alumnus of our Cambridge School of Art, John has kept a close connection with us for the past 50 years as a teacher, mentor and friend to our many art, design and media students. John cites his own biggest inspiration as Paul Hogarth, his former tutor.

John was a part time teacher and most recently a Visiting Fellow of the Faculty of Arts, Law & Social Sciences specialising in Illustration. Today, when he could be long retired, he still enjoys working from his 17th century home and studio near Cambridge.

His vast portfolio of work includes original and highly creative drawings commissioned by governmental organisations, corporate contacts and private individuals. His clients include Penguin Books, Harper Collins, Random House, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBC, Macmillan, The National Trust, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, Prospect, the New York Times and the Folio Society.

A man with many creative talents, John founded the first bluegrass band in Europe in the 1950s and helped set up the Cambridge Folk Festival a decade later, which still today enjoys huge success.

In the mid 1980s, he co-established the Friends of Cambridge School of Art (more affectionately and less reverentially known as 'Posers' The Painting, Observational Sketching and Expressionistic Rendering Society) and set up a weekly life drawing session which still takes place in the Ruskin Building. He is currently working with Philip Hodgkinson of the Simons Group, to whom he is mentor, to arrange drawing trips in innovative city developments and buildings around the country.

A lifelong follower of both Cambridge School of Art and the discipline of drawing, John has been a great ambassador for the school and the Ruskin Gallery and is an inspiration to budding artists everywhere.

Areas Of Interest: Arts, Alumni, Education
Faculty: Arts, Law & Social Sciences
Citation:

"Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for John Holder for the award of Doctor of Arts.

Alumnus John Holder is a veteran illustrator who is known internationally for his phenomenal creative talent. He specialises in classic pen drawing with a generous twist of humour and these intricate, expressive and mood-setting drawings have been acclaimed by art critics from every corner of the globe.

John is a published illustrator. His credits include distinguished authors, John Steinbeck, Dickens, Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut, Graham Greene and Henry James. John has exhibited his drawings, paintings and illustrations in England, Croatia, France, Poland and the USA. His work is seen across the UK, Europe and the USA appearing in books, magazines and newspapers as well as for advertising and packaging. He penned the distinctive illustrations that helped to put Phileas Fogg crisps on the world map.

An alumnus of our Cambridge School of Art, John has kept a close connection with us for the past 50 years as a teacher, mentor and friend to our many art, design and media students. John cites his own biggest inspiration as Paul Hogarth, his former tutor.

John was a part time teacher and most recently a Visiting Fellow of the Faculty of Arts, Law & Social Sciences specialising in Illustration. Today, when he could be long retired, he still enjoys working from his 17th century home and studio near Cambridge.

His vast portfolio of work includes original and highly creative drawings commissioned by governmental organisations, corporate contacts and private individuals. His clients include Penguin Books, Harper Collins, Random House, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBC, Macmillan, The National Trust, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, Prospect, the New York Times and the Folio Society.

A man with many creative talents, John founded the first bluegrass band in Europe in the 1950s and helped set up the Cambridge Folk Festival a decade later, which still today enjoys huge success.

In the mid 1980s, he co-established the Friends of Cambridge School of Art (more affectionately and less reverentially known as 'Posers' The Painting, Observational Sketching and Expressionistic Rendering Society) and set up a weekly life drawing session which still takes place in the Ruskin Building. He is currently working with Philip Hodgkinson of the Simons Group, to whom he is mentor, to arrange drawing trips in innovative city developments and buildings around the country.

A lifelong follower of both Cambridge School of Art and the discipline of drawing, John has been a great ambassador for the school and the Ruskin Gallery and is an inspiration to budding artists everywhere.

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present John Holder for the award of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa."

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