Clifford Webb (14 February 1895 - 29 July 1972) was an English artist, illustrator and author: RBA 1936, RE 1948.
He was apprenticed as a lithographer, served in the British Army ( Wiltshire Regiment) in World War I and then studied at the Westminster School of Art. Fought in Mons, Gallipoli and Mesopotamina. Wounded four times and mentioned in Despatches. 1917 - 1919 served as Captain in the Indian Army.
1919-22 Studied a the Westminster School of Art under Walter Bayes and Bernard Meninsky. 1923-26 Part time lecturer at Birmingham Central School of Art.
He specialised in animal drawings, and produced illustrations for two of the earlier Swallows and Amazons books by Arthur Ransome; initially for the second edition of Swallows and Amazons (as Ransome did not like the illustrations for the first edition by Steven Spurrier, which were not used apart from the endpaper map and the dust jacket). He then illustrated the second book, Swallowdale. But Ransome illustrated the third book, Peter Duck and subsequent books himself, and in 1938 produced replacement illustrations for later editions of Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale.
Webb wrote and illustrated children’s books,
His wife Ella Monkton authored a number of books which he illustrated:
He also illustrated other books;