David Henry Souter

For the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, see David Hackett Souter.

David Henry Souter (30 March 1862 – 22 September 1935) was an Australian artist and journalist.

Souter was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of David Henry Souter, an engineer, and his wife Ann Smith, née Grant. Souter studied art at the local branch of the South Kensington school, contributed to a local journal from 1880, Bon Accord, and went to Natal in 1881, where he engaged in journalism.

Souter married Jessie Swanson (died 1932) on 17 February 1886 and, together, they moved in 1886 to Melbourne, Australia, then settled in 1887 in Sydney. In Sydney, Souter obtained a position with John Sands and Company, where he worked as an illustrator for some time before moving to William Brooks & Co. Ltd. Souter contributed cartoons to The Tribune, and in 1888 founded the "Brush Club" for members under 26 years of age, of which he became president. In 1892 he began contributing drawings to The Bulletin, and for a period of 35 years had at least one drawing in every issue. There are various stories about the cat which so frequently appeared in his drawings, one being that it was evolved from a blot that fell on a drawing at the last moment, and another that it first appeared to fill in a blank space. Some of Souter's cat studies are pictured in the children's nonsense rhyme book he...
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