Matthew Pritchett MBE (born 14 July 1964)[1] is a British cartoonist who has worked on The Daily Telegraph newspaper under the pen name Matt since 1988.
Early life and education
editPritchett's father Oliver Pritchett was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph for several decades;[2] his paternal grandfather was the writer V. S. Pritchett.[3][4] The screenwriter Georgia Pritchett is his sister.[5]
Pritchett attended a grammar school in south-east London before studying graphics at Saint Martin's School of Art. He started working as a waiter in a pizza restaurant, while drawing cartoons in his spare time. His first cartoon was published in the New Statesman, and he then started drawing cartoons for The Daily Telegraph diary.[3] He had considered becoming a film-cameraman, but gave up after realising he had misunderstood the role.[6]
Career
editFollowing the death of Mark Boxer in 1988, Pritchett was hired by Max Hastings to be The Daily Telegraph's new pocket cartoonist.[3] His first cartoon in this role came the day after the newspaper was printed with a date error, leading them to make a front-page apology; the cartoon caption was, "I hope I have a better Thursday than I did yesterday."[6][7] His work has also been published in Punch.[8]
Honours
editPritchett won the British Press Awards' "Cartoonist of the Year" in 2000,[9] 2008,[10] 2009,[11] and 2019,[12] and has been a nominee many other times.[13][14] He won "The Journalists' Charity Award" at the 2014 Press Awards.[15]
He was appointed an MBE in the 2002 New Year Honours "for services to Journalism",[16] and in 2005, Press Gazette inducted him into their Hall of Fame as one of the 40 most influential journalists of the past four decades.[6][17]
Personal life
editPritchett is married to Pascale Smets, a Belgian former fashion designer. They met whilst studying at Saint Martin's, and have three daughters and a son together, including The Guardian cartoonist Edith Pritchett.[18] His wife's sister, Benedicte, is married to Martin Newland, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph.[3][4]
Published works
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Matthew Pritchett (Matt)". British Cartoon Archive. University of Kent. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ↑ Pritchett, Oliver (16 December 2018). "Life as a Sunday Telegraph journalist was full of historic - and bizarre - moments". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Davidson, Max (16 October 2008). "Cartoonist Matt makes his mark with a gentle touch". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- 1 2 Lodico, Joy; Burrell, Ian (17 January 2005). "Media: A Family Business". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Brown, Helen (1 August 2021). "'He pretended to be a robot, then tried to kill me': growing up with cartoonist Matt". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- 1 2 3 Burrell, Ian (21 November 2005). "Matt Pritchett: The Telegraph cartoonist gets top honour". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "A newspaper ahead of its time". The Daily Telegraph. 25 February 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 26 November 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Matt Cartoons (Matthew Pritchett)". Punch Magazine Cartoon Archive. 10 October 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "Legendary editor wins life award". The Guardian. 22 March 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "British Press Awards 2008 - full list of winners". The Guardian. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "British Press Awards 2009: full list of winners". The Guardian. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Davies, Gareth (3 April 2020). "Telegraph wins Website of the Year at British Press Awards - one of 11 accolades". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "British Press Awards". The Guardian. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "Press Awards for 2012 – winners". The Guardian. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "Press awards: Everyday Sexism founder wins Georgina Henry prize". The Guardian. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "MBEs N - R". BBC News. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Gibson, Owen (22 November 2005). "Newspaper panel picks its top 40 - from agony aunts to war reporters". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Pownall, Elfreda (31 August 2019). "At the table for a Telegraph family feast with Pascale Smets and cartoonist Matt". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Sabin, Roger (12 December 2004). "68,647 ways to make you laugh". The Observer. Retrieved 9 April 2020.