Sidney Sime

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Sidney Sime (1867 – May 22, 1941) was born in Manchester in poverty. After a brief career as a "scoop pusher" in the mines and other menial jobs, he studied at the Liverpool College of Art (which joined the University of Liverpool in 1952). He is sometimes called, "the biggest thing to come out of Liverpool before the Beatles".

Sime quickly became famous for drawings and illustrations with fantastic themes, with a presence in "Pick-Me-Up", "The Idler" and "Pall Mall Magazine". He received an inheritance after an uncle died and bought "The Idler" but the business failed in under two years. Then in 1904 or 1905, Sime was approach by the author for whom he is most often remembered, Irish aristocrat Lord Dunsany, beginning an association which lasted for the rest of his life, with his illustrations especially prominent in Dunsany's earlier work (until c. 1922). For one volume, at least some of the stories were inspired by Sime works, and for two, each plate of illustration was signed by both author and artist.

Sime did both scenery and costume work for a number of productions, and had exhibitions in 1923 and 1927. In his later years, he produced less work but more in colour, his earlier work having been almost exclusively monochrome.

Illustrator Roger Dean is among many who cite him as an influence. Writer H. P. Lovecraft was also a fan of his, as was Howard de Walden.

Sime died in 1941, and his widow Mary preserved many of his remaining works, which on her death formed the Sime Memorial Gallery, still extant in the village of Worplesdon near Guildford.