Gods, ghouls and fantastical beasts: exhibition celebrates the imagination of Sidney Sime

The painter, illustrator and caricaturist Sidney Sime (1865-1941) is a suitably macabre subject for an exhibition set to run across Halloween and into the long nights of winter. Working in the 19th century as a boy in the Yorkshire coal pits, Sime drew imps and devils on the tunnel walls and collected miners’ tales of goblins and familiars who protected them underground. In adulthood, he created fantastical illustrations of gods, imaginary beasts, ghosts and supernatural horrors.

Sime was a supremely imaginative and sought-after illustrator of the uncanny – but that’s only part of the story. A new exhibition, The Art of Sidney H. Sime: Master of Fantasy, running at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner from September 28 until January 5 2025, explores Sime’s whole career. It includes illustrations inspired by his experiences down the mines; fantastical set designs; theatrical caricatures; sketches of local characters; and humorous illustrations for magazines and newspapers.

The exhibition also commemorates Sime’s influence on W. Heath Robinson, himself an accomplished creator of fantasies, from fairy-tale scenes to impossible machines. In his autobiography My Line of Life, Heath Robinson acknowledged Sime’s influence on his work.

Sime had a humble start in life. Born into a poor Manchester family in 1865, his boyhood work in the pits entailed pushing coal-filled ‘scoops’ along underground railways. He went on to work for a linen draper and a baker, and later became a sign-writer before finally enrolling at Liverpool School of Art. This was his gateway into another world.

Sime was quick to start exhibiting his artwork and winning prizes for it – and as his career progressed, he moved to London and became an illustrator for Pick Me Up magazine. His theatrical caricatures and funny, sinister drawings were influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and Japanese prints, but his style was distinctly his own.

In 1897 a critic observed that Sime’s personality was an essential part of his drawings, writing: “If there is a grim side to a thing, he always manages to see it.”

By the 20th century, he was working closely with aristocratic collaborators, including the fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, who shared his love of imaginary worlds and employed him to illustrate his book The Gods of Pegana and other works. Sime also made frequent visits to Chirk Castle on the Welsh borders from 1911-1946, where he worked on projects with Lord Howard de Walden and guests, including the musician Joseph Holbrooke, who shared Howard de Walden’s interest in mysterious, occult topics.

In the aftermath of the First World War, Sime became fascinated by The Book of Revelation and created his own apocalyptic visions.

Later, he tired of his London life and moved to Worplesdon in Surrey, where, as a regular visitor to the local inn, he used to sketch caricatures of the locals.

The exhibition features work from all these phases of Sime’s life, on loan from The Sime Gallery, Worplesdon, Surrey. The result is a rich and varied show that highlights Sime’s inexhaustible imagination, originality, and wit.

Geoffrey Beare, the exhibition’s curator, said:

“Sidney Sime was an extraordinary talent. He was equally happy painting elaborate fantasies or sketching during live theatre shows, and he excelled in all aspects of his work. The exhibition travels through Sime’s entire artistic career, placing him in the
overlapping social contexts of theatre and music hall, the art of humorous illustration and the Yorkshire coal mines. It explores the main themes in his work, from his fantasies and caricatures to the expansive Dreamscapes he produced later in his life, which will amaze visitors to the exhibition. The show also casts light on Heath Robinson’s own development as an illustrator: the fact that he was influenced by Sime’s work makes sense; both were incredibly versatile artists, each with a distinctive sense of humour.”

The Art of Sidney H. Sime: Master of Fantasy runs from September 28, 2024 – January 5, 2025 at the Heath Robinson Museum, Pinner Memorial Park 50 West End Lane Pinner HA5 1AE.